John Wesley (1703-1791), founder of Methodism, was invited to Bristol by George Whitefield, a Gloucester-born preacher based among the poor miners of Kingswood. Wesley founded his first chapel in Bristol – built in 1739 – and was a frequent visitor to city. John Wesley (detail from Some Who Have Made Bristol Famous).

The Wesleyan Methodists remained within the Anglican church until 1795. John Wesley's brother Charles was a prolific writer of hymns and lived in Bristol for 20 years.

Others associated with religion and Bristol include:

James Nayler (1616-1660), Quaker preacher and writer.

Dorothy Hazzard (died 1674), Baptist leader and supporter of the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War.

Mary Anne Schimmelpennick (1778-1856), religious writer.

Montague Summers (1880-1946), occultist and eccentric.

Barry Rogerson, Bishop of Bristol who supported ordination of women.