God's province : evangelical Christianity, political thought, and conservatism in Alberta / Clark Banack.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Banack, Clark, 1981- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christian conservatism--Alberta--History--20th century.

Christian conservatism.

Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity--History--20th century.

Conservatism.

Politicians--Religious life--Alberta--History--20th century.

Politicians.

Church history--20th century.

Church history.

Religion and politics--Alberta--History--20th century.

Religion and politics.

Politics and government.

Intellectual life.

Religion.

History.

Religious life.

Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Alberta--Religion--20th century.

Alberta.

Alberta--Intellectual life--20th century.

Alberta--Politics and government--20th century.

Physical Description:

278 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2016]

Summary:

"Relative to the United States, it is assumed that religion has not been a significant factor in Canada's political development. In God's Province, Clark Banack challenges this assumption, showing that, in Alberta, religious motivation played a vital role in shaping its initial political trajectory. For Henry Wise Wood, president of the United Farmers of Alberta from 1916 until 1931, William "Bible Bill" Aberhart, founder of the Alberta Social Credit and premier from 1935 until 1943, Aberhart's protégé Ernest Manning, Alberta's longest serving premier (1943-1968), and Manning's son Preston, founder of the Alberta-based federal Reform Party of Canada, religion was central to their thinking about human agency, the purpose of politics, the role of the state, the nature of the economy, and the proper duties of citizens. Drawing on substantial archival research God's Province highlights the strong link that exists between the religiously inspired political thought and action of these formative leaders, the US evangelical Protestant tradition from which they drew, and the emergence of an individualistic, populist, and anti-statist sentiment in Alberta that is largely unfamiliar to the rest of Canada. Covering nearly a century of Alberta's history, Banack offers an illuminating reconsideration of the political thought of these leaders, the goals of the movements they led, and the roots of Alberta's distinctiveness within Canada. A fusion of religious history, intellectual history, and political thought, God's Province exposes the ways in which the individual intentions of politicians shape one province's political culture."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

Democracy and millennialism in American evangelical Protestantism : the context of religious interpretation in Alberta

Religion and the political thought of Henry Wise Wood : liberal postmillennialism and the initial rejection of prairie socialism in Alberta

Religion and the political thought of William Aberhart and Ernest Manning : fundamentalist premillennialism and anti-socialist sentiment in Alberta

Religion, political thought, and public policy in contemporary Alberta : social conservatism vs the anti-statist religious perspective of Preston Manning

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-272) and index.

Other Format:

Banack, Clark, 1981-, author. God's province.

ISBN:

9780773547148

0773547142

OCLC:

932386875