THE CANADA—BRITAIN–USA TRIAD: CANADIAN PENTECOSTAL PACIFISM IN WWI AND WWII

Abstract

The story of Canadian Pentecostal pacifism was shaped by its own set of early leaders and the Christian backgrounds they brought into the fledgling movement at the turn of the twentieth century, as well as by two influential relationships: a geographical connection to the United States as a constituent part of North America and a political identity as The Dominion of Canada attached to the British Crown. As a dominion, Canada governed its own internal affairs as a country; however, in foreign affairs, Canada was subject to the decisions of Great Britain. Canada’s own brand of Pentecostal pacifism was shaped by this confluence of a porous border between Canada and the United States that encouraged ideological exchange through magazines, personal visits, joint conventions and other venues, on the one hand, and a long reach across the pond which granted Britain the right to govern the foreign relationships of Canada, on the other hand.