The Origins of the Bahá’í Community of Canada, 1898-1948Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press, 2010 M10 30 - 368 pages What binds together Louis Riel’s former secretary, a railroad inventor, a Montreal comedienne, an early proponent of Canada’s juvenile system and a prominent Canadian architect? Socialists, suffragists, musicians, artists—from 1898 to 1948, these and some 550 other individual Canadian Bahá’ís helped create a movement described as the second most widespread religion in the world. Using diaries, memoirs, official reports, private correspondence, newspapers, archives and interviews, Will C. van den Hoonaard has created the first historical account of Bahá’ís in Canada. In addition, The Origins of the Bahá’í Community of Canada, 1898-1948 clearly depicts the dynamics and the struggles of a new religion in a new country. This is a story of modern spiritual heroes—people who changed the lives of others through their devotion to the Bahá’í ideals, in particular to the belief that the earth is one country and all of humankind are its citizens. Thirty-nine original photographs effectively depict persons and events influencing the growth of the Bahá’í movement in Canada. The Origins of the Bahá’í Community of Canada, 1898-1948 makes an original contribution to religious history in Canada and provides a major sociological reference tool, as well as a narrative history that can be used by scholars and Bahá’ís alike for many years to come. |
From inside the book
... believers to inject their own ideas into what they perceived to be the Bahá'í teachings. Such an emphasis on individualistic interpretations would prove to have a negative influence on some members of the new religious faith. It paved ...
... believer), Woodcock had an “extreme view of things,” which included astrology and asceticism, and “other dangerous and injurious practices and ideas” (TCP, 21 January 1910). Nevertheless, in the same year, he gave a presentation on the ...
... believers in Montreal whose conversions were the work of May Maxwell. While the activities of such early believers as Mary Coristine, Pauline Lahill,25 and Walker F. Hetherington remain fairly unknown, there were others who made ...
... believer, asking people to sign a petition for 'Abdu'1-Bahá to come to North America (CHSR, 30 April 1906). The activities of May Maxwell were progressing so well that on 19 May 1908 Montreal's sixteen believers designated themselves as ...
... believers, Hooper Harris and Harlan Ober, climbing to the top of one of the Pyramids near Cairo. Coping with sunstroke, Hooper exclaimed, “as for the mysteries of the Pyramids, I am perfectly willing to leave them to Brother Woodcock ...
Other editions - View all
The Origins of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, 1898-1948 Will C. van den Hoonaard Limited preview - 1996 |
The Origins of the Bahá’í Community of Canada, 1898-1948 Will C. van den Hoonaard No preview available - 1996 |