The Uniform
From Sawiki
While many denominations of the Christian Church have a distinctive form of dress for the clergy, The Salvation Army is almost unique in its allocation of its distinctively martial apparel for clergy and laity alike. Salvationists advocate the priesthood of all believers, thus the uniform (which relates to a priestly garb) is also worn by non-officers. In a sense, a Salvation Army uniform is a Salvationist's "working clothes" for mission.
Uniforms have been worn in many forms since the Army's earliest days. The first evangelists of the Christian Mission (early name of The Salvation Army) wore suits of clerical cut, with frock coats, tall hats and black ties. Women evangelists wore plain dresses and small Quaker type bonnets. After the Mission became the Army (1878), it was agreed that a military type uniform should be adopted.
The first captain of The Salvation Army, a former chimney sweep name Elijah Cadman, is credited with instigating the wearing of the military-style uniforms after declaring at an early meeting, "I should like to wear a suit of clothes that would let everybody know I meant war to the teeth and salvation for the world."
The original Salvation Army uniform was modelled on Victorian military garb, but has evolved over the years. For example, in Australia, bonnets for women we replaced by felt hats in the 1970s and the high military-style collars were dropped for both men and women about the same time. The Army is continually reviewing the style of the uniform to ensure it is up to date.
The Salvationist's uniform currently serves three purposes: internally its use provides a sense of identity and indicates membership; externally it provides a widely recognised symbol of availability and service; internationally it is the most recognised and recognisable cultural icon for Salvationists, part of the glue that holds the denomination together.
The effect of uniform-wearing is to give an extraordinarily high visibility and visual impact in public. The negative effects that Salvationists have to guard against are exclusivity within the Army's congregations and a sense of smugness or spiritual superiority, and complacency (mistaking the wearing of particular garments for being in a right relationship with God).
