8 - Baptists' Evolving Traditioning Sources in North America

Summary

Religious life in North America was shaped principally by five major factors during the age of proliferating traditioning sources: immigration, war, economics, inventions, and social changes. Each of these elements brought important innovations to Baptist constituencies, worldviews, and ways of life – both benefiting and challenging their development and creating new traditioning sources that contributed to reformulations of Baptists' identity.

Both the United States and Canada experienced massive immigration in the last decades of the nineteenth century, which continued in a more controlled fashion throughout the twentieth century. Until World War I, many of those immigrants settled on the rapidly developing western frontiers, triggering conflicts with Native populations. The magnitude and ethnic diversity of immigration challenged Baptist resources. Greatest attention was given to ministry among persons of European heritage, although some Baptists invested sporadically in work among Native populations as well.

Canada was brought into World War I in 1914 by virtue of being part of the British Empire. The magnitude of losses forced the government to legislate military conscription, an act that generated major reactions among French Canadians. The United States entered the war in 1917 as part of a moral crusade to end the evils of war. For both the United States and Canada, World War I unleashed social and political forces that continued to transform those nations long after the hostilities ceased. The postwar years brought a spurt of prosperity to the U.S. economy and, to a lesser extent, to Canada as well. Baptists, among other denominations, began to dream of expanding their work and launched major development campaigns to finance the efforts. The stock market crash of 1929, combined with the Dust Bowl in the U.S. Midwest, ended the Roaring Twenties and introduced a decade-long economic slump that affected both countries. Baptist organizations, some of which had overextended themselves during the decade of prosperity, suffered great hardship. Mission programs were reduced or curtailed. Members migrated to other regions of the country seeking employment. And some Baptist individuals became bitter and disillusioned by the seemingly unending hardships, losses, and unanswered prayers.