Anglican missionary society; formed, 1701; merged with the Universities' Missions to Central Africa to form the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 1965. From the beginning of English colonization, a need for spiritual guidance for colonists and missionary work among natives was felt by Church leaders, but performance fell short of the hazily perceived goal. In 1675 an official inquiry was gotten underway by the Church of England, but it was not until 1698 that the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge was formed, and even then, its scope was limited. In 1701, a special committee was appointed by the Lower House of the Convocation of the Province of Canterbury to inquire into "ways and means for Promoting Christian King William III, who returned a charter founding the Society for the achievements in its far-flung mission empire in North-Central-South America, the West Indies, Africa, Australia, Asia, India, China, Japan, Korea, and Europe, through the close of the nineteenth century can be found in The Encyclopedia of Missions (New York: Funk and Wagnall's, 1904)--Center Library, Ref BV 2040 E53.

In 1965 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel merged with the Universities' Mission to Central Africa to form the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. In the last years of its operation as an independent entity, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel worked with an annual budget of over two million dollars.