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After he left the employ of Lord Shelbourne, Joseph Priestley moved to Birmingham partly at the suggestion of his brother-in-law, John Wilkinson, who desired his sister to be closer. Priestley also had friends in Birmingham and there was a scientific society there which attracted him. Shortly after moving there he was asked to become the minister of New Meeting, a congregation which had the reputation of being the most liberal in England.
Joseph Priestley's most important scientific work was done while he was employed by the Earl of Shelbourne. His time at Birmingham was marked by the production of his most important works in theology. In 1782 he published History of the Corruptions of Christianity a work that so offended the orthodox that it was officially burnt in Holland. In England he was attacked by several members of the orthodox clergy. One of his most vocal critics was Samuel Horsley, Arch-deacon of St. Albans who was so successful in his attacks on Priestley that he was made a Bishop. In fact, during this period it seemed that if you wanted to get ahead in the Church of England you had to be more of a Priestley-basher than anyone else.
Priestley published a succession of controversial religious papers. He said that, until the Council of Nicea, where the doctrine of the Trinity was promulgated, the common people thought of Christ as a man and were, therefore, Unitarians. He studied extensively in preparing his books and stated that his search was only for the truth; if his investigations had proved him wrong he would have been happy to give up his beliefs just as he would give up a scientific theory if experiments proved it wrong.
While at Birmingham he revived The Theological Repository and published another three volumes of controversial views. Priestley wrote extensively on philosophical and metaphysical subjects and engaged most of the leading thinkers of England in dialogue. Probably the only time he agreed with the orthodox was on the subject of the abolition of the slave trade.
While in Birmingham, Priestley became a member of the Lunar Society. This was an informal group that met monthly when the moon was full so that there would be light to drive home by. Naturally they were called, and called themselves, lunatics. The members were successful manufacturers and professional men who shared an interest in stimulating discussions on philosophy and science and almost any subject that was interesting. The participants included James Watt, Matthew Boulton, Dr. Darwin, and others.
In addition to the lunatics, Priestley's circle of friends included Josiah Wedgewood and the Wilkinsons. He was also a member of an international community of scientists who visited and wrote regularly. All in all, his life at Birmingham from 1780 to 1791 was full and happy except for the growing animosity of the orthodox religious leaders. This animosity reached a peak in 1791 and, coupled with the fever-pitch emotions throughout England engendered by the American and French revolutions, resulted in the Birmingham riots. Joseph Priestley never fully recovered from the damage done to him at this time and the last 13 years of his life were pretty much all downhill.