Samuel Oldknow was a non-conformist Unitarian like Samuel Gregg of Styal. Both men were known for looking after their workers. Unitarians believed that social evils were humanly created, NOT God inflicted, and therefore could be remedied by human efforts. Oldknow's efforts in helping his workers reflected this. Oldknow, like a lot of non-conformists, had no difficulty in attending both Nonconformist and C of E services.