| Description |
xiii, 337 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-328) and index. |
| Contents |
The roots of the Salvation Army: the booths, Methodism, and female ministry -- Creating the Salvation Army -- Conversion: theology and narratives -- Saving souls: salvationists at work -- Authority and transgression: the lives of Maud Charlesworth, Effie Anthon, and Rebecca Jarrett -- Robbing the devil of his choice tunes: converting the culture of working-class neighborhoods -- Disorderly champions of order: opposition to the Salvation Army. |
| Summary |
Those people in uniforms who ring bells and raise money for the poor during the holiday season belong to a religious movement that in 1865 combined early feminism, street preaching, holiness theology, and intentionally outrageous singing into what soon became the Salvation Army. In Pulling the devil's kingdom down, Pamela Walker emphasizes how thoroughly the Army entered into nineteenth-century urban life. She follows the movement from its Methodist roots and East London origins through its struggles with the established denominations of England, problems with the law and the media, and public manifestations that included street brawls with working-class toughs. The Salvation Army was a neighborhood religion, with a "battle plan" especially suited to urban working-class geography and cultural life. The ability to use popular leisure activities as inspiration was a major factor in the Army's success, since pubs, music halls, sports, and betting were regarded as its principal rivals. Salvationist women claimed the "right to preach" and enjoyed spiritual authority and public visibility more extensively than in virtually any other religious or secular organization. Opposition to the new movement was equally energetic and took many forms, but even as contemporary music hall performers ridiculed the "Hallelujah Lasses," the Salvation Army was spreading across Great Britain and the Continent, and on to North America. The Army offered a distinctive response to the dilemmas facing Victorian Christians, in particular the relationship between what Salvationists believed and the work they did. Walker fills in the social, cultural, and religious contexts that make that relationship come to life. |
| Subject |
Salvation Army -- Great Britain -- History.
|
|
Great Britain -- Church history -- 19th century.
|
| ISBN |
0520225910 alkaline paper |
|
9780520225916 alkaline paper |
|
