The Salvation Army – What’s in a Name? A Guest Post (Short Read)

Guest Post by Major (Dr) Michelle Wheeler (r)

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Why Does a Name Matter?

Recently, I was talking to one of the older soldiers at my corps and, I’m not sure how we got onto the subject, but she said, “We should get rid of the name ‘The Salvation Army’. It’s not relevant today; nobody understands what ‘salvation’ means.” I was taken aback.

I would have anticipated receiving this comment from a younger person, perhaps during a recruits’ class or in a small group setting, but not from someone who was a lifelong soldier. However, there was no time for further discussion as, having dropped her bombshell, she left me.

A Problem With Salvation

I remember being surprised that her objection was to the word ‘salvation’. I have spoken to people before who objected to the word ‘army’, stating that their preference was for a more peaceable term, but not to ‘salvation’.

Since then, I have been reflecting on what she said and trying to decide whether she was right. Should we change the Army’s name?

Names and Identity Formation

Personal names are important to us as individuals. Generally, we like to be addressed by our name. As a twin, I grew up with people calling me ‘twin’ rather than my given name, and it did not help my feelings of self-worth.

Our names are part of our identity. In psychological terms, identity is about personality and self-concept, particularly within groups.

Similarly, corporate identity is related to the name of an organisation. It helps to identify who they are and sometimes, but not always, what they do. The name of our movement is important as it identifies both the nature of the organisation and the people who identify with it.

The Salvation Army’s Name

The movement that became The Salvation Army was not a stranger to name changes. In July 1865, when William Booth became associated with the movement, it was called the East London Special Services Committee. From about September 1865, it became the East London Christian Revival Union which, by June 1866, had become the East London Christian Revival Society. From September 1867, the organisation was known as the East London Christian Mission and then, in September 1869, as the movement spread outside London, the name changed to the Christian Mission.

This remained the name until 1878, when William Booth famously crossed out the word ‘volunteer’ on a poster and wrote ‘Salvation’, and we became The Salvation Army. There had been no plans to change the name from the Christian Mission and, according to John Larsson in Thirteen Astonishing Years (pp. 6–7), the change was not popular initially.

The Difference a Name Makes

It appears that changing the name made a difference.

It set the movement apart from other small missions in East London at the time and gave its members a sense of purpose. In 1878, the Christian Mission was small, with 29 stations, 31 full-time evangelists and 2,669 members. Just eight years later, in 1886, The Salvation Army had spread to 19 countries and colonies and was working in 1,552 corps with 3,602 commissioned officers. In Britain alone, there were 2,260 officers and 1,006 corps.

Why Salvation in The Salvation Army?

We are The Salvation Army because that is the best description of who we are and what we do. We are a community of people committed to spreading the gospel so that people may come to know God for themselves and be saved. The practical outworking of this Christian faith is seen through social action, including feeding programmes, housing the homeless and helping the disadvantaged.

Our motivation comes from the knowledge of God’s love for his people. At the time of the name change, William Booth wrote in the first issue of The Salvationist:

We are a Salvation people—this is our speciality—getting saved and keeping saved, and then getting somebody else saved, and then getting saved ourselves more and more, until full salvation on earth makes heaven within, which is finally perfected by the full salvation without, on the other side of the river. (1879)

Clearly, William Booth saw ‘salvation’ as the beating heart of the movement. To use a modern metaphor, he believed that salvation was part of the DNA of The Salvation Army. But is this still the case today?

Could it be that people do not understand what salvation is? Is it time to discover a new name to describe who we are and what we do?

Problems With Changing a Name

However, there are problems inherent in changing a name.

It may make us less recognisable, be costly to implement, cause confusion and may even make us subject to ridicule. This has been the experience of various companies over the years. In 2001, Royal Mail changed its name to Consignia. This proved to be unpopular and, after a year, it reverted to its original name.

In 2021, Aberdeen Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management changed their name to Abrdn. This change was widely ridiculed, with some joking that the company was suffering from “irritable vowel syndrome”. The name was changed again to aberdeen group plc in March 2025.

Why Does The Salvation Army Name Matter?

The name of our movement is important as it is connected to our identity.

It makes us recognisable as a church and tells people what we aspire to be: a spiritual force for good in our world. However, it is true to say that not everyone understands the nature of The Salvation Army.

In my experience, it is not the word ‘salvation’ that confuses people but the word ‘army’. When speaking in schools, I have had to explain that we are not an army with guns. This is a concept that is not always easily understood. The quasi-military element, whilst justifiable in Scripture, has not always been popular, and it may be thought that a more peaceable term is desirable.

So What Other Name Could We Use?

If we were to change our name, potential alternatives would have to emphasise our dual identity as a Christian church and a social services provider.

As mentioned above, there would also be the problem of recognisability. We have been The Salvation Army for over 150 years and would need strong reasons to justify such a significant change. I sense that such a change would not be popular with many members of the movement.

While I do not like to think of The Salvation Army as a ‘brand’, it is true that the name is widely recognised and carries connotations of purpose, integrity and trustworthiness.

My first thought was to return to our original name, The Christian Mission. This name aligns with our origins and emphasises the religious purpose of our work. To find inspiration for other options, I turned to Google, which suggested names such as Red Shield Alliance, Red Shield Ministries, Hope Action Corps, Hope Ministries, Booth Services, Booth Ministries or The Salvos.

Keeping Salvation in The Salvation Army

Any name the movement might choose would need to reflect our mission. From the beginning, our purpose has been to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to serve those in need. Taking this into account, it seems to me that our present name remains appropriate. What do you think?

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