Editing William Godwin (section)

== Early life and education ==
Godwin was born in [[Wisbech]], [[Isle of Ely]], [[Cambridgeshire]], to John and Anne Godwin, becoming the seventh of his parents' thirteen children.{{Sfnm|1a1=Marshall|1y=2008|1p=192|2a1=Philp|2y=1993|2p=7}} Godwin's family on both sides were middle-class and his parents adhered to a strict form of [[Calvinism]]. Godwin's mother came from a wealthy family but due to her uncle's frivolities the family wealth was squandered. Fortunately for the family, her father was a successful merchant involved in the [[Baltic maritime trade (c. 1400–1800)|Baltic Sea trade]].{{Sfn|Philp|1993|p=7}} Shortly following William's birth, his father John, a [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformist]] [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]], moved the family to Debenham in Suffolk and later to  [[Guestwick]] in Norfolk, which had a radical history as a [[Roundhead]] stronghold during the [[English Civil War]].<ref>{{cite book |title= Free-thinkers & Trouble-makers|author= Harry Jones|publisher= Wisbech Society|year= 2004|page= 13}}</ref> At the local [[meeting house]], John Godwin often found himself sitting in "[[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]]'s Chair", which had been a gift to the town by the [[Lord Protector]].{{Sfn|Marshall|2008|p=192}}

William Godwin came from a long line of [[English Dissenters]], who faced [[religious discrimination]] by the British government, and was inspired by his grandfather and father to take up the dissenting tradition and become a minister himself.{{Sfnm|1a1=Brailsford|1y=2009|1p=79|2a1=Marshall|2y=2008|2p=192}} At eleven years old, he became the sole pupil of [[Samuel Newton (clergyman)|Samuel Newton]], a [[Hyper-Calvinism|hard-line Calvinist]] and a [[Glasite|disciple]] of [[Robert Sandeman (theologian)|Robert Sandeman]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Marshall|1y=2008|1p=192|2a1=Robinson|2y=1980|2p=171|3a1=Thomas|3y=2019|3p=6}} Although Newton's strict method of [[School discipline|discipline]] left Godwin with a lasting [[anti-authoritarianism]], Godwin internalized the Sandemanian [[creed]], which emphasised [[rationalism]], [[egalitarianism]] and [[consensus decision-making]].{{Sfn|Marshall|2008|pp=192–193}} Despite Godwin's later renunciation of Christianity, he maintained his Sandemanian roots, which he held responsible for his commitment to rationalism, as well as his [[stoicism|stoic personality]].{{Sfn|Marshall|2008|p=193}} Godwin later characterised Newton as, "... a celebrated north country apostle, who, after Calvin damned ninety-nine in a hundred of mankind, has contrived a scheme for damning ninety-nine in a hundred of the followers of Calvin."{{Sfnm|1a1=Robinson|1y=1980|1p=171|2a1=Thomas|2y=2019|2p=6}} In 1771, Godwin was finally dismissed by Newton and returned home, but his father died the following year, which prompted his mother to urge him to continue his education.{{Sfn|Thomas|2019|pp=6–7}}

At seventeen years old, Godwin began [[higher education]] at the [[Dissenting academies|Dissenting Academy]] in [[Hoxton]],{{Sfnm|1a1=Brailsford|1y=2009|1p=79|2a1=Marshall|2y=2008|2p=193|3a1=Robinson|3y=1980|3p=171|4a1=Thomas|4y=2019|4p=7}} where he studied under [[Andrew Kippis]], the biographer, and [[Abraham Rees]], who was responsible for the ''[[Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences]]''.{{Sfnm|1a1=Robinson|1y=1980|1p=171|2a1=Thomas|2y=2019|2p=7}} A hotspot for [[classical liberalism]], at the Academy, Godwin familiarized himself with [[John Locke]]'s [[associationism|approach to psychology]], [[Isaac Newton]]'s [[Newtonianism|scientific method]] and [[Francis Hutcheson (philosopher)|Francis Hutcheson]]'s [[Moral sense theory|ethical system]], which all informed Godwin's philosophies of [[determinism]] and [[Subjective idealism|immaterialism]].{{Sfn|Marshall|2008|p=193}} Although Godwin had joined the Academy as a committed [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]],{{Sfnm|1a1=Brailsford|1y=2009|1p=79|2a1=Marshall|2y=2008|2p=193}} the outbreak of the [[American Revolution]] led him to support the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig opposition]] and, after reading the works of [[Jonathan Swift]], he became a staunch [[British republicanism|republican]].{{Sfn|Marshall|2008|p=193}} He soon familiarised himself with the French ''[[philosophes]]'', learning of [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]'s belief in the inherent goodness of [[human nature]] and opposition to [[private property]], as well as [[Claude Adrien Helvétius]]'s [[utilitarianism]] and [[Baron d'Holbach|Paul-Henri Thiry]]'s [[materialism]].{{Sfn|Marshall|2008|pp=193–194}}

In 1778, Godwin graduated from the academy and was quickly appointed as a minister in [[Ware, Hertfordshire|Ware]], where he met [[Joseph Fawcett]], one of his main direct influences. By 1780, he had been reassigned to [[Stowmarket]], where he first read [[Baron d'Holbach|Paul-Henri Thiry]]'s ''[[The System of Nature|System of Nature]]'', adopting his philosophies of [[determinism]] and [[materialism]].{{Sfn|Thomas|2019|p=8}} But after a conflict with other dissenting ministers of [[Suffolk]] over the administration of the [[eucharist]], he stepped down and left for [[London]] in April 1782,{{Sfn|Thomas|2019|pp=8–9}} resigning his career as a minister to become a [[writer]].{{Sfn|Marshall|2008|pp=193–194}}