Neither Male nor Modernist: Fundamentalist Baptist Women in Ontario, 1926-1933. Monographs in Baptist History Series 41. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2026.
In 1926, fundamentalist women in Ontario formed the Women’s Missionary Society of the Regular Baptists of Canada (WMS) and became the first to formally separate from the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec over modernism. In the process, they carved out a significant place for themselves within the growing movement. By the early years of the following decade, however, the level of authority the WMS enjoyed became a cause for concern in certain pockets of the fundamentalist movement. The result was a significant schism that effectively reshaped the landscape of Baptist fundamentalism in Canada. By exploring the contributions and involvement of the WMS during this pivotal period, this study demonstrates that women were active participants in the fundamentalist movement and, at times, were not afraid to defy men in authority. The example of these women challenges the commonly held belief that women in fundamentalist circles were docile or otherwise universally submissive to their male coreligionists.
“This groundbreaking book takes its reader into the relatively unknown views and efforts of Ontario’s fundamentalist Regular Baptist Women’s Missionary Society. In particular, this book focuses on the WMS’s intelligent, influential, and indomitable leader, Caroline Holman. The primary strength of this book is its ability to deepen one’s understanding of the service provided by Baptist women in a pivotal period of Canadian Baptist history. This book is well-researched, well-written, and well-argued. Highly recommended!”
—Paul R. Wilson, president, Canadian Baptist Historical Society
“This book provides a fascinating study of fundamentalist Baptist women in Ontario during the fundamentalist-modernist controversy. It analyzes what happened when these women exercised their agency by leading an independent missions organization within a fundamentalist theological environment. Nuanced and insightful, this work provides a valuable contribution to studies of fundamentalism, gender, and Baptist history.”
—Melody Maxwell, Hannah Maria Norris Professor of World Christian History and Women in Ministry, Acadia Divinity College
“Neither Male nor Modernist challenges assumptions that conservative Baptist women are docile or submissive creatures. Revisiting the familiar story of the fundamentalist-modernist divide, Taylor Murray explores the role that Carrie Holman played in that fight when she defied the patriarchy and formed a powerful and separate Baptist women’s organization. She insisted she could not ‘submit to mere men’ when God was calling her to lead, not follow. However, Holman was more anti-modern than anti-male, more fundamentalist than feminist, and this important book compels us to reconsider how we think about conservative religious women.”
—Linda E. Ambrose, Professor Emerita of History, Laurentian University
Letters From the Front, edited with Evan L. Colford. Wolfville, NS: Acadia Centre for Baptist and Anabaptist Studies, 2026.
During the Great War, the Homefront was desperate for information on the world-changing events taking place in Europe. From 1915 to 1916, the Rev. Dr. John Howard MacDonald, a military chaplain originally from Nova Scotia, sent regular letters to his denominational community, the United Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces. From the dangers and hardships to the successes and blessings, he described life “at the front.” Together, this collection of letters provides a unique insight into the life and experiences of a military chaplain stationed in harm’s way. Available here (physical) and here (digital).
Canadian Baptist Fundamentalism, edited with Paul R. Wilson. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2022.
Canadian Baptist Fundamentalism is the first single-volume work to present a national picture of Baptist engagement with the fundamentalist movement in Canada in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By drawing on material from across the country, Canadian Baptist Fundamentalism addresses old themes in new ways–and, in the process, raises a variety of questions and possibilities for new avenues of study. Available here and here.
“This book offers a carefully researched, well-argued, and accessible account of Canadian Baptists during a tumultuous century. For this American reader, it succeeds especially in showing the many ways in which Canadian Baptists resembled American fundamentalists, but also significant areas where being a Canadian made a difference. For pushing back against stereotypes and making good use of first-order research, editors Murray and Wilson have made a significant contribution to historical knowledge and theological understanding.”
—Mark Noll, author of A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada
“The fundamentalist Baptists of Canada were not a small coterie of militant obscurantists but a varied set of conservative Protestants with diverse institutions and shifting priorities. In a volume that covers the whole of Canada and extends over an eventful century, eight authors ably portray the contours of a movement with strong but changing Christian convictions.”
—David Bebbington, University of Stirling, emeritus
“These fine studies on various aspects of Baptist fundamentalism in Canada fill a great need. . . . This book is also necessary reading for understanding the status and identity of Canadian Evangelicalism at the present. For like it or not, many modern-day Evangelicals in Canada are the spiritual and theological children and grandchildren of the believers discussed in these pages. Well conceived and superbly executed!”
—Michael A. G. Haykin, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Baptists in Canada: Their History and Polity, with Gordon L. Heath and Dallas Friesen. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2020.
Baptists arrived in what would become Canada in the mid-eighteenth century, and from those early arrivals Baptists from a wide variety of backgrounds planted churches in every region of the vast nation. This book traces that history of Baptists in Canada, and provides historical antecedents and theological rationales for their church polity. Written in a generous spirit, it recognizes what Baptists share with other Christian communities and how they differ among themselves on some matters. Available here and here.
“The authors of this fine work have carefully put Canadian Baptists and their principles in their historical context in such a way that the material is accessible to laity and college students. Using their grasp of Baptist history and beliefs, they even offer suggestions for potential church ministry in the twenty-first century.”
—Robert S. Wilson, Thomas James Armstrong Memorial Senior Professor of Church History Emeritus, Acadia Divinity College
“My only complaint with this book is that it wasn’t written earlier! This excellent study is just the volume I have been looking for to use with my seminary students and candidates for Baptist ordination. It also provides valuable content for church leaders and members in the Canadian Baptist context and beyond. It’s the authoritative book on Canadian Baptists.”
—Melody Maxwell, Associate Professor of Church History, Acadia Divinity College
Atlantic Baptists and Their World: A Festschrift in Honour of Robert S. Wilson, edited with Gordon L. Heath. Wolfville, NS: Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada Historical Committee, 2020.
Atlantic Baptists and Their World celebrates Dr. Robert S. Wilson’s contributions to the academic world and the church. The contents of this Festschrift revolve primarily around Atlantic Baptist history, something particularly close to his heart. The enclosed chapters are written by a spectrum of people—former students, colleagues, fellow historians, and associates in denominational life. Available here.
