Since the 1970s Richard Allen’s scholarship on the social gospel has broken new ground in the field of Canadian social and religious history by recover- ing key aspects of the tradition and its contribution to reform movements and politics. Beyond the Noise of Solemn Assemblies collects and extends many of his classic works to present a comprehen- sive overview of a major thread in the fabric of the country. Observing the mutual foundations of political and religious traditions in myth and arguing that the sacred and the secular belong together in dis- cussions of public affairs, Allen contests the view that religion is personal and isolated from the pub- lic square. He discusses a range of topics: the tran- sition from providential to progressive thought in nineteenth-century Canada; the new spirituality of social solidarity articulated by Winnipeg college students in the 1890s; the role of the social gospel in pioneering urban reform; farmers and workers finding in radical Christianity legitimation for political revolt; Christian intellectuals in the 1930s framing a revolutionary prospectus for Depres- sion-era Canada; the significance of Norman Bethune’s religious upbringing for his life and work; strategically focused post-war ecumenical coalitions like Project North and the Latin Ameri- can Working Group; and the prospects for demo- cratic socialism at the end of the Cold War. Opening with a chapter relating the author’s upbringing in a ministerial household dedicated to the Protestant ethic as the spirit of socialism, Beyond the Noise of Solemn Assemblies represents a significant contribution to understanding the social Christian movement in Canada. Richard Allen is adjunct professor of history at McMaster University. 3 9 M Q U P F A L L 2 0 1 8 C A N A D I A N H I S T O R Y • H I S T O R Y O F R E L I G I O N Beyond the Noise of Solemn Assemblies The Protestant Ethic and the Quest for Social Justice in Canada richard allen Reflections on the rise and transformative power of a new social consciousness. S P E C I F I C AT I O N S P1wt55l@daapO.Z6rdCta.ZtpZr$aZQt.r0sfZ0)ZFa5txt0p December 2018 -i2l9lii87l779SlSZZ u,99n996ZbmU4Zu,99n996ZA64Zgiin99ZZ150r$ hZBZ-ZZ8SS33ZZ a:00£ZoDot5oT5a