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Secularizing the Faith: Canadian Protestant Clergy and the Crisis of Belief, 1850-1940
The intellectual ferment of the Victorian era posed a substantial challenge to religious institutions. In Canada as elsewhere the focus of religious belief, especially in the Protestant sects, shifted perceptibly away from spiritual concerns. David B. Marshall explores the ways in which the clergy responded to these changes. Faced with war, depress, and the absense of religious revival in the twentieth century, a crisis in theology the church and religion seemed 'marginal.' Ministers strained to find a 'preachable gospel.' Sensing that their congregations were growing indifferent to spiritual homilies and references to the supernatural, ministers spoke of the Christian mission in the world with growing reference to morality and the obligation to create social justice. God ceased to be a transcendent being and Jesus became a historical man actively engaged in the concerns of the world rather than the son of God showing the way to personal salvation. Clergymen no longer led their congregations in a quest to understand the mysterious or supernatural. The process of secularization during this time took place throughtout much of the Western world. In exploring its course in Canadian Protestantism, Marshall sheds light on a key development in Canadian religious and intellectual history.
325 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1992
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March 11, 2016
"Secularizing the Faith: Canadian Protestant Clergy and the Crisis of Belief, 1850-1940" chronicles the intellectual and spiritual challenges that affected Protestant ministers during the last days of British North America and the first seven decades of Canada. Historian David B. Marshall marshals ample evidence and primary documentation in his study, including journal articles and personal papers. Marshall sets about to analyze how the clergy’s faith was affected by new ideas and theories with focus paid particularly to Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and United Church clergy (p. 8-9). While this leads Marshall to avoid engagement with the average Canadian Christians’ beliefs, sociologically, clergy function as the “gatekeepers” through whom most Christians acquire biblical and theological teaching, discipleship modeling and pastoral care.
It is striking how similar the concerns of early Canadian clergy mirror those of Christians in the 21st century. Early Canadian clergy had to compete with a consumer ethos that was rising in Canada which forced them to alter Christianity in order to make it “relevant” to an emerging generation of church shoppers and hoppers who even turned prayer into a consumer act as they demanded God fulfill their wishes (p. 5, 48, 127-29). Yet early Canadian clergy also witnessed the transformation of Canadian society as more and more Canadians moved from the country into the city as the nation industrialized (p. 5). Along with rampant consumerism, clergy also had to contend with a diminution of the reverence paid to the Sabbath as Canadians used the Lord’s Day to engage in recreational activities or found themselves scheduled to work (p. 132-37). In order to compete with secular entertainment, sermons became less expository and doctrinal and more narrative (a performance technique taken from D.L. Moody) and sentimentality surged (p. 139-44). Canadian Christianity was not only comprised by surrendering to popular culture; the champions of the social gospel, such as S.D. Chown and in particular the Methodists, invested the uttermost confidence in the insights of sociology as they attempted to embody classical Wesleyanism through the social renewal and reform of society. While admirable, this watered-down the spiritual element of Christianity and made the churches irrelevant to Canadians who began to view it as merely another institution of social reform and not the Body of Christ (p. 146-152).
During Canada’s dawning decades, the country was denominationally diverse. No one church, save the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec, effectively dominated society. Thus, Canada enjoyed religious (or at least Christian) diversity and tolerance, though in the late-Victorian era there were some notably heterodox factions in Canada (p. 12, 21-22). Marshall states that “economic development and material progress” was “the foundation for a stable order” (p. 23).
Clergy during the Victorian era tended to focus on the eternal salvation offered by God rather than bombastic screeds of hellfire and brimstone (p. 28). Despite a reluctance to emphasize sin and guilt, many evangelicals were anxious about the authenticity of their faith and Methodists, influenced by John Wesley and the Puritans, kept spiritual journals (p.28-30). Marshall chronicles how Nathanael Burwash’s faith was shaped most by his mother during family worship but that Burwash experienced doubt as to the validity of his religious experience and the assurance of his conversion (p. 32). Similar spiritual anguish dogged the Presbyterians Francis Huston Wallace and D.J. MacDonnell (p. 35-41). Wallace was perturbed as to how he could insist that people be “born again” if it was solely God’s absolute sovereign will that determined their conversion (p. 38). MacDonnell questioned the doctrine of Hell, leading to accusations of heresy (p. 41-44). It was also in the Victorian era that confidence in natural theology eroded as new geological discoveries, evolution and biblical criticism impacted the academy, leading to a rise of doubt regarding Christianity and the Bible (p. 45-47). Yet as Marshall explains, “Ethical concern and moral feeling were probably more responsible than critical inquiry or intellectual problems for unsettling the faith of clergymen and their congregations” (p. 47). This is understandable. It is likely that not all pastors, particularly those that ventured forth into the frontier, were academically trained and new discoveries and theories in Europe may have been delayed in traversing the Atlantic, especially if they originated in a country like France or Germany and required translation. In comparison, emotions and consternation over morality can affect anyone regardless of education. As MacDonnell’s fiasco evidences, many Canadians during the Victorian era had trouble reconciling the eternal torment of Hell with God’s love and the publicity MacDonnell’s trial garnered may have shaken some Christians’ belief in God (p. 47). Reluctance and refusal to believe in an eternal Hell also reflects the growing spread of sentimentality in North American Christianity as explored by Kathryn Gin Lum in her 2014 book Damned Nation: Hell in America from the Revolution to Reconstruction. According to Gin Lum, Americans became increasingly distraught over the possibility of infants being condemned to Hell and the same emotional and ethical consternation may have also affected Canadians. What’s more, the lack of a destructive civil war in Canada safeguarded its people from having to contend with relatives lost to the battlefield; without the exposure and reality of painful loss and suffering etched in Canada’s memory like that of America in the mid-19th century, this may have made the Canadian outlook on theological matters like Hell more positive, naïve, and blithe. The First World War would come as a shock.
Canadian Christianity modernized and liberalized in order to combat the doctrinal fatigue and weariness of the laity (p. 49). However, this accommodation to new “social and intellectual trends” ultimately aided in the undermining of faith (p. 49). While some Canadian clergy attempted to harmonize religion and science, finding proof in the testimonies of Christian scientists, others such as Burwash admitted that the Bible and science could never be entirely reconciled while still more accepted a nuanced version evolution with God as the cause and guider (p. 55-59). One of the radical intellectual changes evolution triggered was a shift away from God as transcendent towards God as immanent (p. 59). Interestingly, Arminians, especially Methodists, opposed Darwinian determinism because it undermined their concept of free will (p. 56). This is also interesting because many charismatic and Pentecostal Christians trace themselves back beyond the Holiness movement to Methodism and charismatic Christianity, with its expectancy of the Holy Spirit’s dynamic work in the world, seems more inclined towards an immanent God. Further exposure to biblical criticism prompted debates among clergy as to which parts of the Bible were divinely inspired and which parts were human elements (p. 67). Doctrinal sermons gave way to moralistic sermons as “Jesus was interpreted in historical, ethical, and social terms as opposed to miraculous and spiritual ones,” laying the groundwork for the social gospel (p. 68-69). This was in fact a means of defence; Jesus’ social and moral teachings were not vulnerable to historical criticism the same way supernatural acts were (p. 69). Doctrine itself was viewed as progressive but this opened the door to constant reformulations of theology (p. 71).
At the turn of the century, Canada experienced its own revival, particularly through the evangelistic zeal of Hugh Thomas Crossley and John Hunter (p. 73). The Crossley-Hunter team, influenced by D.L. Moody and Ira Sankey, preached a simple gospel message, avoided fire and brimstone in their messages, minimized the depravity of sin and utilized moving hymns that powerfully stirred the audience’s emotions (p. 89-96). As Canada industrialized and urbanized, more Canadians departed from their rural steads to the cities and support for leftist politics increased (p. 73). The allure of the city also brought with it more diversions and distractions, forcing clergy and revivalists to alter their presentation of religion, taking cues from popular culture, in order to make it attractive (p. 73, 97). While one segment of the Canadian populace, especially clergy and scholars, began raising doubts about the divine inspiration of the Bible, another segment of the populace radicalized into fundamentalism and criticized liberal theology that declared the Kingdom of God could be realized through spiritual and ethical progress (p. 76-81). It was these denominations that maintained the basic gospel message of salvation that gained an increase in converts (p. 85). The increased scrutiny paid to the composition and study of the Bible led to a decrease in reverence towards the Scriptures among the academic elite as it came to be viewed increasingly as a human product, though clergy were concerned to preserve the Bible’s trustworthiness, simplicity and significance as they were tasked with nurturing the laity’s faith (p. 82-83).
Missions also comprised a significant component of Canadian Christianity, especially in the Victorian era (p. 99). Christians anticipated that missions would help to “authenticate” Christianity but as missionaries encountered exotic cultures and rival religions, they were beset by misgivings as to the uniqueness and superiority of Christianity compared to other creeds (p. 100). This was partly a result of the failure of missionaries to dissuade indigenous peoples to turn from their traditional religion to faith in Jesus Christ, leading missionaries to abandon evangelistic efforts in favour of ethical and social reform, the hallmarks of the social gospel. Success in these initiatives led to continued support for missions. Those missionaries who did persist in evangelism tended to present a syncretistic form of Christianity that incorporated the best aspects of indigenous spirituality (p. 102-04). However, this syncretism was not limited to the foreign mission field; Professor George Cross of McMaster University speculated that a Christianity harmonized with Eastern religion would be superior to traditional Christianity (p. 106-07). Cross’ flirtation with a Christian-Eastern religion hybrid in the early 1900s shows how longstanding such a temptation to spiritual syncretism has been present in Canada. This period was also marked by missions to the western frontier of Canada. The novels of C.W. Gordon, better known by his pen name “Ralph Connor,” helped to generate support for western missions as his tales described both the rough, harsh conditions among labourers and settlers in the West along with portrayals of ministers whose simple gospel proclamation provokes sincere, life-changing conversions (p. 118-124). Marshall does well to analyze Connor’s novels since they provided entertainment for the laity and represent how clergy were depicted in popular culture.
The First World War provided Canada with the opportunity to assert itself on the national stage even as it followed Great Britain into battle. The First World War gave chaplains the occasion to bond with soldiers. Pastoral care became imperative as soldiers, largely ignorant of basic Christian tenets, grappled with the reality of death and sin (p. 157). Like the medieval crusades in the Holy Land, the First World War took on religious overtones, with participation considered to be “redemptive” and consuming of the Eucharist becoming a superstitious pre- and post-battle charm (p. 158-64, 169). While Methodism’s idealistic doctrine of Christian perfection withered in the blood-drenched trenches of Europe, Presbyterians’ theological moorings afforded them a better opportunity to weather the carnage. Many soldiers took comfort and courage in the notion that their sacrifices on the battlefield offered them redemption and mirrored in some way the sacrifice of their Saviour (p. 161-64). Soldiers engaged in moral vices such as gambling, drinking alcohol and fornication but the admonitions of the chaplains were muted because they feared rebuke would lessen their ability to minister to the troops (p. 166). While soldiers sought immorality, buoyed by preachers’ assurances that they would not die in vain and lauded for their sacrifice, soldiers also did not adopt an evangelical faith. Their faith, buffeted by the doubt that despair and destruction bring, was vague and unformed and largely the product of the individual soldiers’ own understanding rather than the careful summation of trained clergy (p. 172-73). The aftermath of the war shook the religious sensibilities of the veterans who bitterly railed against the saccharine Christianity they returned to in Canada. They thought their conduct in the war had made them too depraved to be a proper Christian and many who had been enrolled in seminary before the war could not continue with their theological studies (p. 173-77). The churches were also criticized for their early support of the war and their failure in religious instruction, resulting in a devastating blow to the churches’ spiritual and moral authority (p. 177-80).
The aftermath of the First World War also shook liberal evangelicalism’s rosy confidence in the social gospel. S.D. Chown exemplified this attitude as he urged his fellow Methodists to return to simple evangelical faith and avoid optimistic liberal theology (179, 184). However, the Canadian churches were beset by problems, one of which was a lack of ministerial candidates as the vocation of the ministry was viewed as “isolating” and “unrewarding” (p. 185-87). Such a predicament was not unique to Canada, but it did seem to affect the nation earlier than other countries. In Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics¸ Ross Douthat states, “Entering the ministry had always involved sacrifice, but the scale of that sacrifice grew considerably steeper during the 1960s and ‘70s. Swiftly rising salaries in every nonclerical career almost certainly depleted the ranks of would-be priests and ministers, depriving the established churches of youthful leadership at precisely the moment when it was needed most” (p. 79). Even as the United Church of Canada formed in 1925 through a merger of Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists, with the zealous mission of being Canada’s national church and providing social reform for all, it, along with Canada’s other churches, struggled to fill the pulpits. Consumerism’s cementation in the Canadian social fabric led to prospective young men turning to careers with better wages as “the culture of consumption signaled a shift in dominant values from salvation in the next world to material well-being in this world” (p. 189). Though lauded as a success (despite the fact that 1/3 of Canadian Presbyterians refused to join), the United Church was immediately noted for its haphazard theology which sluggishly juggled contradictory views such as Calvinist Presbyterian and Arminian Methodism in an effort to be inclusive (190-93). Its latitudinarianism meant that “There was no unifying gospel in the United church which cemented a strong and assured fellowship able to withstand the tide of advancing and widespread secularization” (p. 196). Within the United Church some, such as Richard Roberts (who would serve as Moderator from 1934-36), criticized the liberal theology and accommodation to modernity that had already taken root in the church while himself struggling to cohesively understand who the being of God was (p. 196-201).
The Great Depression devastated many Canadians, particularly on the Prairies. The liberal churches sought to provide aid but in their theology and evangelism they were lethargic (p. 206, 228). Canadian clergy responded admirably to the economic suffering of their congregants and sacrificed for them even as they themselves faced slashes in salary and the closure of church initiatives (p. 229-33). The United Church was divided over how to respond, with some focusing on personal Christianity while the liberal faction favoured social Christianity (p. 237). During these hard years the Oxford Group’s tour of Canada beginning in 1932 sparked a brief revival that lasted from late 1932 to 1934 (p. 205). The Oxford Group carried out meetings across Canada. Some criticized it for targeting elites and for being too shallow theologically and for avoiding discussing sin, equating the group with “therapeutic mind-cure” and sensational enthusiasm (p. 223-26).
Several themes pervade Marshall’s study. One of them is consumerism and its effect on Canadian clergy and citizens. Marshall contends that “Clergyman in Canada unwittingly contributed to the process of secularization in their quest to make religion conform to the needs and demands of the modern world” although this process was “slow and often imperceptible” (p. 8, 19). Another is the schizophrenic inability of the United Church to decide how to respond to a changing culture – was the road to the Kingdom of God through the social gospel or through individualistic, conservative evangelism? Despite the United Church’s present adherence to theological liberalism, many of its early leading figures developed doubts and misgivings about the social gospel and theological liberalism’s naïve understanding of sin. Marshall’s focus on the clergy calls to mind the sociologist Peter Berger’s remarks about the USA being a nation of Indians under the control of Swedes, with Canadians being the Indians and the ecclesiastical elite being the Swedes. Berger uses Indians to demonstrate the fervent religiosity of Americans whereas the enlightened Swedes have “transcended” crude religious beliefs. The clergy had the benefit of theological education compared to the rural folk and city-slickers they ministered to but this also introduced them to theories and ideas that rattled their faith. As mentioned above, it was in the ivory tower that skepticism about the Bible was discussed. These academics went on to train clergy who may have imbibed their professors incredulity and suspicion about traditional Christian tenets. How many of these clergy would go on to become the mouthpieces of theological liberalism? Marshall’s narrative of Canadian clergy and the secularization of their culture is an absorbing read.
It is striking how similar the concerns of early Canadian clergy mirror those of Christians in the 21st century. Early Canadian clergy had to compete with a consumer ethos that was rising in Canada which forced them to alter Christianity in order to make it “relevant” to an emerging generation of church shoppers and hoppers who even turned prayer into a consumer act as they demanded God fulfill their wishes (p. 5, 48, 127-29). Yet early Canadian clergy also witnessed the transformation of Canadian society as more and more Canadians moved from the country into the city as the nation industrialized (p. 5). Along with rampant consumerism, clergy also had to contend with a diminution of the reverence paid to the Sabbath as Canadians used the Lord’s Day to engage in recreational activities or found themselves scheduled to work (p. 132-37). In order to compete with secular entertainment, sermons became less expository and doctrinal and more narrative (a performance technique taken from D.L. Moody) and sentimentality surged (p. 139-44). Canadian Christianity was not only comprised by surrendering to popular culture; the champions of the social gospel, such as S.D. Chown and in particular the Methodists, invested the uttermost confidence in the insights of sociology as they attempted to embody classical Wesleyanism through the social renewal and reform of society. While admirable, this watered-down the spiritual element of Christianity and made the churches irrelevant to Canadians who began to view it as merely another institution of social reform and not the Body of Christ (p. 146-152).
During Canada’s dawning decades, the country was denominationally diverse. No one church, save the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec, effectively dominated society. Thus, Canada enjoyed religious (or at least Christian) diversity and tolerance, though in the late-Victorian era there were some notably heterodox factions in Canada (p. 12, 21-22). Marshall states that “economic development and material progress” was “the foundation for a stable order” (p. 23).
Clergy during the Victorian era tended to focus on the eternal salvation offered by God rather than bombastic screeds of hellfire and brimstone (p. 28). Despite a reluctance to emphasize sin and guilt, many evangelicals were anxious about the authenticity of their faith and Methodists, influenced by John Wesley and the Puritans, kept spiritual journals (p.28-30). Marshall chronicles how Nathanael Burwash’s faith was shaped most by his mother during family worship but that Burwash experienced doubt as to the validity of his religious experience and the assurance of his conversion (p. 32). Similar spiritual anguish dogged the Presbyterians Francis Huston Wallace and D.J. MacDonnell (p. 35-41). Wallace was perturbed as to how he could insist that people be “born again” if it was solely God’s absolute sovereign will that determined their conversion (p. 38). MacDonnell questioned the doctrine of Hell, leading to accusations of heresy (p. 41-44). It was also in the Victorian era that confidence in natural theology eroded as new geological discoveries, evolution and biblical criticism impacted the academy, leading to a rise of doubt regarding Christianity and the Bible (p. 45-47). Yet as Marshall explains, “Ethical concern and moral feeling were probably more responsible than critical inquiry or intellectual problems for unsettling the faith of clergymen and their congregations” (p. 47). This is understandable. It is likely that not all pastors, particularly those that ventured forth into the frontier, were academically trained and new discoveries and theories in Europe may have been delayed in traversing the Atlantic, especially if they originated in a country like France or Germany and required translation. In comparison, emotions and consternation over morality can affect anyone regardless of education. As MacDonnell’s fiasco evidences, many Canadians during the Victorian era had trouble reconciling the eternal torment of Hell with God’s love and the publicity MacDonnell’s trial garnered may have shaken some Christians’ belief in God (p. 47). Reluctance and refusal to believe in an eternal Hell also reflects the growing spread of sentimentality in North American Christianity as explored by Kathryn Gin Lum in her 2014 book Damned Nation: Hell in America from the Revolution to Reconstruction. According to Gin Lum, Americans became increasingly distraught over the possibility of infants being condemned to Hell and the same emotional and ethical consternation may have also affected Canadians. What’s more, the lack of a destructive civil war in Canada safeguarded its people from having to contend with relatives lost to the battlefield; without the exposure and reality of painful loss and suffering etched in Canada’s memory like that of America in the mid-19th century, this may have made the Canadian outlook on theological matters like Hell more positive, naïve, and blithe. The First World War would come as a shock.
Canadian Christianity modernized and liberalized in order to combat the doctrinal fatigue and weariness of the laity (p. 49). However, this accommodation to new “social and intellectual trends” ultimately aided in the undermining of faith (p. 49). While some Canadian clergy attempted to harmonize religion and science, finding proof in the testimonies of Christian scientists, others such as Burwash admitted that the Bible and science could never be entirely reconciled while still more accepted a nuanced version evolution with God as the cause and guider (p. 55-59). One of the radical intellectual changes evolution triggered was a shift away from God as transcendent towards God as immanent (p. 59). Interestingly, Arminians, especially Methodists, opposed Darwinian determinism because it undermined their concept of free will (p. 56). This is also interesting because many charismatic and Pentecostal Christians trace themselves back beyond the Holiness movement to Methodism and charismatic Christianity, with its expectancy of the Holy Spirit’s dynamic work in the world, seems more inclined towards an immanent God. Further exposure to biblical criticism prompted debates among clergy as to which parts of the Bible were divinely inspired and which parts were human elements (p. 67). Doctrinal sermons gave way to moralistic sermons as “Jesus was interpreted in historical, ethical, and social terms as opposed to miraculous and spiritual ones,” laying the groundwork for the social gospel (p. 68-69). This was in fact a means of defence; Jesus’ social and moral teachings were not vulnerable to historical criticism the same way supernatural acts were (p. 69). Doctrine itself was viewed as progressive but this opened the door to constant reformulations of theology (p. 71).
At the turn of the century, Canada experienced its own revival, particularly through the evangelistic zeal of Hugh Thomas Crossley and John Hunter (p. 73). The Crossley-Hunter team, influenced by D.L. Moody and Ira Sankey, preached a simple gospel message, avoided fire and brimstone in their messages, minimized the depravity of sin and utilized moving hymns that powerfully stirred the audience’s emotions (p. 89-96). As Canada industrialized and urbanized, more Canadians departed from their rural steads to the cities and support for leftist politics increased (p. 73). The allure of the city also brought with it more diversions and distractions, forcing clergy and revivalists to alter their presentation of religion, taking cues from popular culture, in order to make it attractive (p. 73, 97). While one segment of the Canadian populace, especially clergy and scholars, began raising doubts about the divine inspiration of the Bible, another segment of the populace radicalized into fundamentalism and criticized liberal theology that declared the Kingdom of God could be realized through spiritual and ethical progress (p. 76-81). It was these denominations that maintained the basic gospel message of salvation that gained an increase in converts (p. 85). The increased scrutiny paid to the composition and study of the Bible led to a decrease in reverence towards the Scriptures among the academic elite as it came to be viewed increasingly as a human product, though clergy were concerned to preserve the Bible’s trustworthiness, simplicity and significance as they were tasked with nurturing the laity’s faith (p. 82-83).
Missions also comprised a significant component of Canadian Christianity, especially in the Victorian era (p. 99). Christians anticipated that missions would help to “authenticate” Christianity but as missionaries encountered exotic cultures and rival religions, they were beset by misgivings as to the uniqueness and superiority of Christianity compared to other creeds (p. 100). This was partly a result of the failure of missionaries to dissuade indigenous peoples to turn from their traditional religion to faith in Jesus Christ, leading missionaries to abandon evangelistic efforts in favour of ethical and social reform, the hallmarks of the social gospel. Success in these initiatives led to continued support for missions. Those missionaries who did persist in evangelism tended to present a syncretistic form of Christianity that incorporated the best aspects of indigenous spirituality (p. 102-04). However, this syncretism was not limited to the foreign mission field; Professor George Cross of McMaster University speculated that a Christianity harmonized with Eastern religion would be superior to traditional Christianity (p. 106-07). Cross’ flirtation with a Christian-Eastern religion hybrid in the early 1900s shows how longstanding such a temptation to spiritual syncretism has been present in Canada. This period was also marked by missions to the western frontier of Canada. The novels of C.W. Gordon, better known by his pen name “Ralph Connor,” helped to generate support for western missions as his tales described both the rough, harsh conditions among labourers and settlers in the West along with portrayals of ministers whose simple gospel proclamation provokes sincere, life-changing conversions (p. 118-124). Marshall does well to analyze Connor’s novels since they provided entertainment for the laity and represent how clergy were depicted in popular culture.
The First World War provided Canada with the opportunity to assert itself on the national stage even as it followed Great Britain into battle. The First World War gave chaplains the occasion to bond with soldiers. Pastoral care became imperative as soldiers, largely ignorant of basic Christian tenets, grappled with the reality of death and sin (p. 157). Like the medieval crusades in the Holy Land, the First World War took on religious overtones, with participation considered to be “redemptive” and consuming of the Eucharist becoming a superstitious pre- and post-battle charm (p. 158-64, 169). While Methodism’s idealistic doctrine of Christian perfection withered in the blood-drenched trenches of Europe, Presbyterians’ theological moorings afforded them a better opportunity to weather the carnage. Many soldiers took comfort and courage in the notion that their sacrifices on the battlefield offered them redemption and mirrored in some way the sacrifice of their Saviour (p. 161-64). Soldiers engaged in moral vices such as gambling, drinking alcohol and fornication but the admonitions of the chaplains were muted because they feared rebuke would lessen their ability to minister to the troops (p. 166). While soldiers sought immorality, buoyed by preachers’ assurances that they would not die in vain and lauded for their sacrifice, soldiers also did not adopt an evangelical faith. Their faith, buffeted by the doubt that despair and destruction bring, was vague and unformed and largely the product of the individual soldiers’ own understanding rather than the careful summation of trained clergy (p. 172-73). The aftermath of the war shook the religious sensibilities of the veterans who bitterly railed against the saccharine Christianity they returned to in Canada. They thought their conduct in the war had made them too depraved to be a proper Christian and many who had been enrolled in seminary before the war could not continue with their theological studies (p. 173-77). The churches were also criticized for their early support of the war and their failure in religious instruction, resulting in a devastating blow to the churches’ spiritual and moral authority (p. 177-80).
The aftermath of the First World War also shook liberal evangelicalism’s rosy confidence in the social gospel. S.D. Chown exemplified this attitude as he urged his fellow Methodists to return to simple evangelical faith and avoid optimistic liberal theology (179, 184). However, the Canadian churches were beset by problems, one of which was a lack of ministerial candidates as the vocation of the ministry was viewed as “isolating” and “unrewarding” (p. 185-87). Such a predicament was not unique to Canada, but it did seem to affect the nation earlier than other countries. In Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics¸ Ross Douthat states, “Entering the ministry had always involved sacrifice, but the scale of that sacrifice grew considerably steeper during the 1960s and ‘70s. Swiftly rising salaries in every nonclerical career almost certainly depleted the ranks of would-be priests and ministers, depriving the established churches of youthful leadership at precisely the moment when it was needed most” (p. 79). Even as the United Church of Canada formed in 1925 through a merger of Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists, with the zealous mission of being Canada’s national church and providing social reform for all, it, along with Canada’s other churches, struggled to fill the pulpits. Consumerism’s cementation in the Canadian social fabric led to prospective young men turning to careers with better wages as “the culture of consumption signaled a shift in dominant values from salvation in the next world to material well-being in this world” (p. 189). Though lauded as a success (despite the fact that 1/3 of Canadian Presbyterians refused to join), the United Church was immediately noted for its haphazard theology which sluggishly juggled contradictory views such as Calvinist Presbyterian and Arminian Methodism in an effort to be inclusive (190-93). Its latitudinarianism meant that “There was no unifying gospel in the United church which cemented a strong and assured fellowship able to withstand the tide of advancing and widespread secularization” (p. 196). Within the United Church some, such as Richard Roberts (who would serve as Moderator from 1934-36), criticized the liberal theology and accommodation to modernity that had already taken root in the church while himself struggling to cohesively understand who the being of God was (p. 196-201).
The Great Depression devastated many Canadians, particularly on the Prairies. The liberal churches sought to provide aid but in their theology and evangelism they were lethargic (p. 206, 228). Canadian clergy responded admirably to the economic suffering of their congregants and sacrificed for them even as they themselves faced slashes in salary and the closure of church initiatives (p. 229-33). The United Church was divided over how to respond, with some focusing on personal Christianity while the liberal faction favoured social Christianity (p. 237). During these hard years the Oxford Group’s tour of Canada beginning in 1932 sparked a brief revival that lasted from late 1932 to 1934 (p. 205). The Oxford Group carried out meetings across Canada. Some criticized it for targeting elites and for being too shallow theologically and for avoiding discussing sin, equating the group with “therapeutic mind-cure” and sensational enthusiasm (p. 223-26).
Several themes pervade Marshall’s study. One of them is consumerism and its effect on Canadian clergy and citizens. Marshall contends that “Clergyman in Canada unwittingly contributed to the process of secularization in their quest to make religion conform to the needs and demands of the modern world” although this process was “slow and often imperceptible” (p. 8, 19). Another is the schizophrenic inability of the United Church to decide how to respond to a changing culture – was the road to the Kingdom of God through the social gospel or through individualistic, conservative evangelism? Despite the United Church’s present adherence to theological liberalism, many of its early leading figures developed doubts and misgivings about the social gospel and theological liberalism’s naïve understanding of sin. Marshall’s focus on the clergy calls to mind the sociologist Peter Berger’s remarks about the USA being a nation of Indians under the control of Swedes, with Canadians being the Indians and the ecclesiastical elite being the Swedes. Berger uses Indians to demonstrate the fervent religiosity of Americans whereas the enlightened Swedes have “transcended” crude religious beliefs. The clergy had the benefit of theological education compared to the rural folk and city-slickers they ministered to but this also introduced them to theories and ideas that rattled their faith. As mentioned above, it was in the ivory tower that skepticism about the Bible was discussed. These academics went on to train clergy who may have imbibed their professors incredulity and suspicion about traditional Christian tenets. How many of these clergy would go on to become the mouthpieces of theological liberalism? Marshall’s narrative of Canadian clergy and the secularization of their culture is an absorbing read.
September 17, 2021
This scholarly work puts the travails of change, and the very internal struggle of the Protestant church in Canada in to perspective. It is the ongoing struggle to remain relevant. It broadened my understanding and scratched my intellectual itch.
August 30, 2011
informative.
June 10, 2017
Very interesting. Some arguments were a little overkilled, but overall I quite enjoyed the book. Good summary of the secularization of the Protestant church in Canada.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews