Socialist Politics
In 1917, Smith read the Communist Manifesto for the first time. He later claimed that the work was "like a revelation". Smith's religious views were, by his own admission, unorthodox for the standards of his age: he believed that the message of Jesus was "the proclamation of a new social order of human society", and rejected the "harsh theologies" of mainstream Christian churches. "In my sermons", he wrote, "no miracle was required to explain the birth of Jesus or his life and teachings His name was to be cherished because He died as a leader of the people, for His principles and in protest against the unjust rulers of His day" (Albert Smith, All My Life, pp. 42–43). After reading the Communist Manifesto, Smith eventually reached the conclusion that Jesus was a Communist.
Smith's views had not yet developed to this stage in 1917, however, and he joined the social reformist Dominion Labour Party at the end of World War I. Smith supported the strikers from his pulpit during the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, and opened his church to Brandon civic workers who voted for a parallel strike in their city. As a member of the Brandon Trades and Labour Council, Smith provided extensive logistical support to Brandon's strike committee.
Not surprisingly, Smith's labour activities were opposed by more conservative figures in his Methodist church. At a special meeting of the church board held on May 26, 1919, a prominent church member moved that Smith "be restrained from any further preaching in First Church". No formal charges were made against him, and the motion was withdrawn. Nonetheless, his role as Brandon's Methodist minister had become untenable. On June 8, he announced the formation of a new People's Church in the city.
Read more about this topic: Albert Edward Smith
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