Borderland Religion ― The Emergence of an English-canadian Identity, 1792-1852

Little (history, Simon Fraser U.) describes the reasons why Canadians and Americans share a common border, but not necessarily the same views about religion. Little concentrates on the eastern border region. There, in the years following the end of the Revolutionary War, evangelicals tended to settle or stay in New England, including Congregationalists, Baptists, and other more radical sects such as the Millerites. In Canada, still tied to England, Anglicans and Wesleyan Methodists had the most influence. The result was a growing difference in views about the role of religion in governance, who was privileged through membership of which religious persuasion, how the stability of religious organizations related to their influence on social attitudes, and how popular movements such as revivalism and messianism were accepted. Little includes a statistical appendix and telling photographs of churches on both sides of the border. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

J.I. Little is a professor in the Department of History at Simon Fraser University.