He was educated at
St Catharine's College, Cambridge and ordained a priest in 1700. He was rector of
St Peter-le-Poer,
London, from 1704 to 1724, and of St Leonard's, Streatham, from 1710 to 1723. His participation in controversy began at the beginning of his career, when he advocated conformity of the religious rites from the
Scottish and
English churches for the sake of union. He became a leader of the
low church and found favour with the
Whig party and was regarded as one of the more radical
Commonwealthmen. He battled with
Francis Atterbury, who was the spokesman for the
high church group and
Tory leader on the subject of passive obedience and non-resistance (i.e. obedience of divines that would not involve swearing allegiance or changing their eucharistic rites but would also not involve denunciation of the
Established Church practices). The
House of Commons, dominated by Whigs, recommended him to
Queen Anne, and he became rector of
Streatham in 1710. When
George I succeeded to the throne, he became chaplain to the King and made bishop of Bangor in 1716. He took up the See on the
confirmation of his
election, at
St Mary-le-Bow on 17 March 1716. In 1717, his sermon on "The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ" provoked the Bangorian controversy. He was then translated three more times, taking up different bishoprics. He maintained that the
eucharist was purely a commemorative act without any divine intervention. During his time as bishop, he rarely visited his dioceses and lived, instead, in London, where he was very active in politics. From later summer 1722 to January 1725 Hoadly published letters on contemporary topics, articulating his Whig principles and defending the
Glorious Revolution of 1688. The Revolution had created "
that Limited Form of Government which is our only Security" and such a government secured freedom of expression, without which Britons would suffer "all the
Mischiefs, of
Darkness in the
Intellectual World, of
Baseness in the
Moral World, and of
Slavery in the
Political World". Hoadly also criticised the
Pretender, who issued a declaration that he would extinguish opposition. Hoadly wrote that he would impose uniformity on all if he ruled: "Not only that he
must destroy your
Civil and
Religious Rights, but that he plainly before-hand has here
told You,
to your Face, He will do so".
William Hogarth (1697–1764) painted his portrait as Bishop of Winchester and "Prelate of the Most Noble
Order of the Garter" about 1743, etched by
Bernard Baron (1696–1762). Hoadly's son
Benjamin aided Hogarth with his
The Analysis of Beauty. ==Selected works==