This article uses the lens of critical discourse analysis to examine the religious education efforts of the Newfoundland School Society (NSS), the main provider of religious education in Newfoundland in the 19th century. Although its focus was initially this colony, the NSS quickly broadened its reach to the whole British empire, making it one of the largest religious education bodies in the world. In this article, the author's focus is on the social context and discourses produced by the Society in its annual reports and accompanying anniversary sermons. Data are drawn from archival records of the NSS for the years 1830-1840. (Contains 1 footnote.)