The origins and growth of the Salvation Army in Newfoundland, 1885-1901

Dunton, Jefferson D. (1996) The origins and growth of the Salvation Army in Newfoundland, 1885-1901. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The Salvation Army has enjoyed more success on the island of Newfoundland than in any other province in Canada. Though Newfoundland has long been a stronghold for The Salvation Army very few academic studies exist that deal with the Army's arrival and growth. When the first Salvationists came to Newfoundland at the end of the nineteenth century, the island was in the grips of a depression and the fishers were struggling to survive. These elements, in combination with the island's geography and system of trade, proved beneficial to the Army. The Salvationist's methods of recruitment and preaching provided Newfoundlanders with entertainment and served to entice a number of people to join The Salvation Army. The Army was never a serious threat to the three main denominations: the Church of England, the Methodist Church, and the Catholic Church, and its popularity was limited in both size and location, but the Salvationists in Newfoundland have proven to be the Canadian Salvation Army's strongest and most abundant supporters. -- The present-day Salvationist owes a debt to the men and women who took a chance on a strange and seemingly disrespectable religion. The early Salvationists were drawn into the sectarian hostility which existed in nineteenth-century Newfoundland soon after they arrived. Yet. these people continued their work and the Army became a permanent part of the island's religious community.

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