Piety and Nationalism: Lay Voluntary Associations and the Creation of an Irish-Catholic Community in Toronto, 1850-1895 by Brian P. Clarke (review)

BOOK REVIEWS1 29 I used "foundational" earlier on because I suggest that Isetti's work needs to be complemented by equally probing studies ofreligious women, ofclerical congregations, and perhaps even of diocesan curias in order that Charles's and the Brothers' experiences can take on a deeper meaning in such a context. One hopes such work either exists but has escaped adequate notice, or that it will be forthcoming. We may have more in common than we think, and biography may be the best way to share it all. Brother Patrick Ellis, F.S.C. The Catholic University ofAmerica Canadian Piety and Nationalism: Lay Voluntary Associations and the Creation ofan Irish-Catholic Community in Toronto, 1850-1895. By Brian P. Clarke. [McGill-Queen's Studies in the History ofReligion, 12.] (Montreal: McGiIlQueen 's University Press. 1993. Pp. xii, 340. «39.95.) Brian Clarke's study of Irish Catholics in Toronto is well written and researched , focusing on two of the most important issues in the history of nineteenth-century Irish: religion and nationalism. The author contends the consensus among most historians is that religious renewal emanated from the church hierarchy and orders, thereby casting the laity into an acquiescent mould. Clarke sets out to demonstrate the vitality ofToronto's Irish immigrants who, while adopting a subculture of religious identity, exhibited a strong initiative that supported the group's social interaction, independent of clerical influence. Clarke provides insight into the conditions the Irish immigrants encountered , their reaction to the devotional renewal that followed, the subsequent emergence of devotional organizations and the outgrowth of nationalist associations . His chapters on Irish nationalism are erudite. Of particular note is the concept that the clergy's reluctance to participate fully in advancing the causes of national organizations promoted lay leadership in associations that became disassociated from, if not confrontational with the Catholic Church. One must examine, however, the central theme of this work, that is, the role of the laity in founding many of the Catholic voluntary associations which fostered the development of lay initiative. It seems that Clarke attempts to eclipse the position of the Church and its clergy in the formation of Irish Catholic societies. The major portion of the social work done in Toronto on behalf of the Irish Catholic community occurred under the auspices of the Church and its religious orders of men and women. The Saint Vincent de Paul Society was lay-run, but existed under the guidance of the Church. Prior to the twentieth century the Church led and the laity followed; the Church condoned and condemned. The piety of the people was an outgrowth of what the Church dictated. 1 30BOOK REVIEWS Clarke uses a wide range of primary and secondary sources to support his work. However, while discounting the work of some other writers who have explored the Irish Catholics in Toronto, he fails to provide sufficient evidence to disprove their analyses. For example, while admitting that in contemporary accounts and manuscript material Irish Catholics were stereotypical as drunken brawlers, Clarke takes Kenneth Duncan and Murray Nicolson to task for basing "their respective interpretations on this stereotype rather than exploding it as a myth" (p. 28). Through this in-depth study, Clarke has nonetheless opened a door on an ethno-religious community that contributed to the development of Toronto. It invites new approaches that will lead to a standard work in this field. Murray W. Nicolson Wilfrid Laurier University Latin American South andMeso-AmericanNative Spirituality: From the CultoftheFeathered Serpent to the Theology of Liberation. Edited by Gary H. Gossen, in collaboration with Miguel León-Portilla. [World Spirituality: An Encyclopedic History of the Religious Quest, Volume 4.] (New York: Crossroad . 1993. Pp. xii, 563. «4950 clothbound.) South and Meso-American Native Spirituality offers a sampler of the religious life in a region marked by multiple spiritual traditions, in the preContact period; and by the formation of new traditions from the cultural gifts of Amerindians, Europeans, Africans, and Asians, in die post-Contact era. Coverage includes not only South America and Mesoamerica, but also the Caribbean and other parts ofMexico and ofCentral America. The editor excludes "mainstream Judeo-Christian belief and practice" from consideration; they are "fundamentally linked...