His mother, who wrote 'Practical Observations on the Revelations of St. John' (Bath, 1800; written in 1775), was noted for piety and culture; and she gave all her children religious training.
In 1795 Bowdler wrote a long letter to Lord Auckland about the high prices of the time, in which he attacked clergy and legislators for neglecting morality and religion.
In 1796 he addressed letters on similar subjects to the Archbishop of Canterbury and bishops Beilby Porteus and Samuel Horsley.
He disapproved of Sir Richard Hill's 'Apology for Brotherly Love,' a partial justification of the prevailing dissent, and issued pamphlets in support of the opposite views expounded in Charles Daubeney's 'Guide to the Church.'
In 1815 he formed a committee to memorialise the government to erect additional churches in the populous parts of England out of public funds.