The Contribution of Methodism to Atlantic Canada

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

This collection of essays attempts to fill a gap in Canadian history
that few Canadians know is even there. While Methodism was the dominant
Protestant denomination west of Quebec, in the Maritime Provinces it
ranked well behind the Anglican, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches in
membership and social influence.

Because most of these essays were originally prepared for Mount Allison
College’s Sesqui-centennial Conference, this is a book by scholars for
scholars. This should not deter the general reader, but it is advisable
to have a theological dictionary handy (unless you can distinguish
Arminiamism from Antinomianism without a crib sheet).

Although the essays are well researched and informative, the final
product fails to live up to its own title. There is no examination of
the real impact of Methodism on the average Maritime citizen. Ontario
Methodists, for example, managed to block Sunday streetcars in Toronto
until the last decade of the 19th century. It would be helpful to know
what influence, if any, Methodism had on Atlantic laws and social mores.
Instead, the essays concern themselves with internal Methodist conflicts
and triumphs. This work is really about the Methodist contribution to
Atlantic Methodism, not to Atlantic Canada.

The book is also skewed by the fact that 13 of the 14 contributors are
men. The result is a male-centred, clergy-dominated portrait that is not
consistent with Methodism, especially in its more populist Atlantic
form. There is also no mention of visible-minority Methodist movements,
although Methodism was well established among both the Black Loyalist
and Native Maritime populations.

These flaws, however, cannot detract from the overall worth of the
work. Each contributor is a world-class scholar and each essay is a
first-rate work. Their combined effort is a bright beginning for what,
it is hoped, will become a much broader field of knowledge.