The Salvation Army in Switzerland

This impassioned account examines the early expansion of the Salvation Army in Switzerland and the resistance it encountered from local authorities, religious leaders, and hostile crowds. The narrator begins by defending the movement’s right to preach openly, especially through the work of women, and asks whether a nation celebrated for liberty and religious tolerance can silence an unpopular ministry.

The story follows events in Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, and other cantons, where evangelistic meetings become entangled in disputes over public order, policing, and the interpretation of law. Reports of demonstrations, arrests, petitions, expulsions, and courtroom arguments reveal the tension between established institutions and a movement determined to reach working people and those living on society’s margins.

Alongside its legal and political concerns, the book describes the Army’s spiritual mission through testimonies, conversions, public meetings, and the personal courage of its representatives. It offers a vivid window into nineteenth-century religious controversy while making a broader case for justice, freedom of conscience, and equal protection under the law.