Anglican clergyman, promoter of the Church of England in the American colonies, who was known as a religious progressive and reformer.

A country rector, Bray was chosen in 1696 by the bishop of London to provide ecclesiastical assistance in the Maryland colony, where he lived for several months in 1700, but he worked for the most part in England and corresponded with the colony.

He recruited missionaries for Maryland and other colonies and established colonial libraries (library). Originally designed to be used by Anglican clergy, these libraries expanded in scope and patronage, and by 1699 there were 30 in the colonies. To support the libraries, Bray organized the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1698/99); he also helped establish the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (1701), the Trustees of Parochial Libraries (1710), and the still-active Associates of Dr. Bray (1723, dedicated to converting blacks and Indians to the Christian faith).