For God, King, and the soul of Canada: Christianity, First World War remembrance culture, and early Canadian nationalism
| dc.contributor.author | Bass, Jennifer | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Valenti, Jean (Université de Saint-Boniface) | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Noël, Patrick (Université de Saint-Boniface) | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Morris, Paul | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-01-16T15:12:45Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-01-16T15:12:45Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-12-31 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2024-12-31T16:35:29Z | en_US |
| dc.date.submitted | 2025-01-15T23:43:09Z | en_US |
| dc.degree.discipline | Études canadiennes | |
| dc.degree.level | Maîtrise ès arts (Université de Saint-Boniface) | |
| dc.description.abstract | The depth to which Christianity influenced Canadian culture and war mobilization has been insufficiently considered. The Churches have long been understood to have played a supporting role in Canada’s First World War, but where major studies have looked at Britain and Germany’s participation in terms of ‘holy war,’ Canada has generally been considered only for its place in the British Empire and not for its own religious motivations. Similarly, the start of Canadian nationalism is often deemed a result of the First World War. This study challenges these ideas by looking at the place the Churches and religion played in Canadian culture at the time, exploring in depth the huge influence religion had in Canadian society and through their support of the war and the significant impact they had on Canada’s participation and national sentiments. It explores how the Churches’ concern for the “soul of Canada,” a term used which appeared even before the war to describe Canada’s character and identity, drove the Churches’ active involvement in, and their understanding of, events. Because of their desire to keep Canada Christian and British, goals they thought could be achieve through the war, they whole-heartedly embraced the First World War. The Churches’ motivations and the results of their support, from the ways they justified participation in the war to the effects they had on the Canadian population, ensured that a Christian interpretation of the war and the deaths of soldiers became the dominant cultural interpretation of the war. The Churches’ long-standing desire to shape “Canada’s soul,” combined with Canadians' desire for meaning in the First World War, led to increased nationalistic sentiments. This impacted the development of a robust “remembrance culture” in Canada, one that favoured religious and national interpretation of the war and continues to influence Canadian symbols and ceremonies. Combining the results of Christian cultural influence, religious justification and memorialisation of the war, and the Churches’ concern for the “soul of Canada,” this study shows the strong Christian culture influence and the religious-based development of remembrance culture and early Canadian nationalism. | |
| dc.description.note | February 2025 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1993/38827 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.subject | history | |
| dc.subject | First World War | |
| dc.subject | World War One | |
| dc.subject | remembrance | |
| dc.subject | nationalism | |
| dc.subject | religion | |
| dc.subject | culture | |
| dc.subject | identity | |
| dc.subject | Christianity | |
| dc.subject | Church | |
| dc.subject | Holy War | |
| dc.subject | Vimyism | |
| dc.title | For God, King, and the soul of Canada: Christianity, First World War remembrance culture, and early Canadian nationalism | |
| local.subject.manitoba | no |