Humanitarian History: Salvation Army social work & spirituality

The Salvation Army currently works in 132 countries, promoting international development, disaster relief, health care, education, anti-trafficking/anti-slavery work, and women’s ministries throughout the world. How did a small British outreach develop into a world-wide humanitarian organization? My proposed research will examine The Salvation Army’s global expansion from 1880-1918 by studying the Booth family. Much research has been done on William and Catherine Booth, the English Methodists who founded the Christian Mission (later renamed The Salvation Army) in London in 1865. However, scholars have paid little attention to the Booths’ children, who dominated Salvationist leadership and played a key role in The Salvation Army’s global expansion. By examining the second-generation of Booths, this research will provide a new history of Salvationism and Empire with a particular emphasis on Canada, where the history of The Salvation Army has been neglected. My research will also examine the The Salvation Army’s dual aim: promoting spiritual formation and social work. I focus on The Salvation Army’s work with prostitutes (child and adult). My proposed research will explore Salvationist social work and spirituality Britain and Canada to explore how religious and social purity movements in the metropole influenced colonial settings (and vice versa).

Faculty Supervisor:

Elizabeth Elbourne

Student:

Partner:

Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Public Service, Policy, and Governance; Education

University:

McGill University

Program: