Difference between revisions of "Social Gospel"

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The '''Social Gospel''' movement was a Protestant intellectual movement that was most prominent 1880-1940 in the United States and Canada, during the [[Third Great Awakening]].  It applied Christian principles to social problems, especially poverty, inequality, liquor, crime, racial tensions, slums, bad hygiene, poor schools, and the danger of war. Theologically, the Social Gospel leaders were overwhelmingly "post-millennialist." That is they believed the Second Coming of Jesus Christ could not happen until humankind rid itself of social evils by human effort. For the most part, they rejected pre-millennialist theology (which was predominant in the South and among Fundamentalists), according to which the Second Coming of Christ was imminent, and Christians should devote their energies to preparing for it rather than addressing the issue of social evils. Social Gospel leaders such as Washington Gladden, (1836-1918) were predominantly liberal politically and theologically, although [[William Jennings Bryan]] was theologically conservative and politically liberal.
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The '''Social Gospel''' movement was a [[Protestant]] intellectual movement that was most prominent 1880-1940 in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], during the [[Third Great Awakening]].  It applied [[Christian]] principles to social problems, especially poverty, inequality, liquor, crime, racial tensions, slums, bad hygiene, poor schools, and the danger of war. Theologically, the Social Gospel leaders were overwhelmingly "post-millennialist." That is they believed the Second Coming of Jesus Christ could not happen until humankind rid itself of social evils by human effort. For the most part, they rejected pre-millennialist theology (which was predominant in the South and among Fundamentalists), according to which the Second Coming of Christ was imminent, and Christians should devote their energies to preparing for it rather than addressing the issue of social evils. Social Gospel leaders such as Washington Gladden, (1836-1918) were predominantly liberal politically and theologically, although [[William Jennings Bryan]] was theologically conservative and politically liberal.
 
==In the United States ==
 
==In the United States ==
  

Revision as of 08:26, December 30, 2008

The Social Gospel movement was a Protestant intellectual movement that was most prominent 1880-1940 in the United States and Canada, during the Third Great Awakening. It applied Christian principles to social problems, especially poverty, inequality, liquor, crime, racial tensions, slums, bad hygiene, poor schools, and the danger of war. Theologically, the Social Gospel leaders were overwhelmingly "post-millennialist." That is they believed the Second Coming of Jesus Christ could not happen until humankind rid itself of social evils by human effort. For the most part, they rejected pre-millennialist theology (which was predominant in the South and among Fundamentalists), according to which the Second Coming of Christ was imminent, and Christians should devote their energies to preparing for it rather than addressing the issue of social evils. Social Gospel leaders such as Washington Gladden, (1836-1918) were predominantly liberal politically and theologically, although William Jennings Bryan was theologically conservative and politically liberal.

In the United States

The Social Gospel was a driving force in much of Protestant America. The Presbyterians said it best in 1910:[1]

The great ends of the church are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

In the early 20th century, many Protestants were disgusted by the poverty level and the low quality of living in the slums, which had a strong Catholic base but few Protestants . The social gospel movement provided a religious rationale for action to address those concerns. Activists in the Social Gospel movement hoped that by public health measures as well as enforced schooling so the poor could develop talents and skills, the quality of their moral lives would begin to improve. Important concerns of the Social Gospel movement were labor reforms, such as abolishing child labor and regulating the hours of work by mothers. By 1920 they were crusading against the 12-hour day for men at U.S. Steel. Many reformers inspired by the movement opened settlement houses, most notably Hull House in Chicago operated by Jane Addams and many others after 1890. They helped the poor and immigrants improve their lives. Settlement houses offered services such as daycare, education, and health care to needy people in slum neighborhoods.

South

Religious leaders in the South were theologically conservative, but most denominations supported the Social Gospel. For example, the Southern Baptists strongly supported some of the main Social Gospel campaigns, especially against liquor and saloons and sexual slavery. The spirit of today's campaigns against abortion very closely resemble the language and rhetoric and organizing techniques of the prohibition campaigns. The Southern churches were also active opponents of prostitution, obscenity and gambling, and they aligned with like minded politicians like Alben Barkley of Kentucky (who later became Truman's vice president). Most of the state Baptist conventions had "Christian Life Commissions" that echoed the Social Gospel (they were especially active in Alabama and Virginia). The Southern Methodist Church, then a separate denomination, was also active across the South in thses reform campaigns, as were the main African American denominations.

1930s

In the United States prior to 1930, the Social Gospel was the religious wing of the progressive movement which had the aim of combatting injustice, suffering and poverty in society. During the New Deal of the 1930s Social Gospel themes could be seen in the work of Harry Hopkins, Will Alexander and Mary McLeod Bethune, who added a new concern with African Americans. After 1940, the movement withered, but was invigorated in the 1950s by black leaders like Baptist minister Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. After 1980 it weakened again as a major force inside mainstream churches; indeed those churches were losing strength. Examples of its continued existence can still be found, notably the organization known as the "Call to Renewal" and local organizations like the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy.


Prominent leaders in the U.S. included Washington Gladden, Irwin St. John Tucker, J. Stitt Wilson, Franklin S. Spalding, George Washington Woodbey, and Bouck White. Socialists included W.D.P. Bliss, Edward Ellis Carr (who organized the Christian Socialist Fellowship), George C. Herron, Carl D. Thompson, Algernon Lee, Lena Morrow Lewis, Roland D. Sawyer, and Rose Pastor Stokes.

In Britain and Canada

The Social Gospel movement in the United States was parallel to the Christian socialism movement in Britain at about the same time.[2] The two movements came together in Canada, where they were especially influential. Many ministers became active in the socialist movement in the form of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and later the New Democratic Party. Tommy Douglas, a Baptist minister, was leader of the CCF from 1942 and the premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961, where he led the first socialist government in North America and introduced universal public medicare to Canada. From 1961 to 1971 he led the New Democratic Party at the federal level.[3]

Theology

The Social Gospel preached the doing of good works especially to help social problems such as crime and poverty, so that societal problems would cease. Only then would Jesus return. The notions of the social gospel appeared primarily in the United States especially among theologically liberal Protestants. The social gospel was criticized by more traditional Protestants as abandoning faith for works and not focusing on the essential matter of personal salvation.

In literature

The Social Gospel theme is reflected in the novels In His Steps (1897) and The Reformer (1902), the creations of the Congregational minister Charles Sheldon, who coined the motto "What would Jesus do?" Sheldon was committed to Christian Socialism and identified strongly with the Social Gospel movement. Walter Rauschenbusch, one of the leading early theologians of the Social Gospel in the United States, indicated that his theology had been inspired by Sheldon's novels.

The 21st Century

The Social Gospel is still influential in Canada's United Church and in the Anglican Church. Social Gospel elements can be found in many service and relief agencies associated with Protestant denominations and the Catholic Church in the United States. It also remains influential among Christian socialist circles in Britain in the Church of England, Methodist and Calvinist movements.

In Catholicism, liberation theology has similarities to the Social Gospel.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Secondary sources

  • Abell, Aaron I. American Catholicism and Social Action: A Search for Social Justice (1960),
  • Ahlstrom, Sydney E. A Religious History of the American People (1974)
  • Curtis, Susan. A Consuming Faith: The Social Gospel and Modern American Culture (1991)
  • Dorn, Jacob H., ed. Socialism and Christianity in Early 20th Century America Greenwood Press, (1998) articles by scholarsonline edition
  • Dorn, Jacob H. "The Social Gospel and Socialism: A Comparison of the Thought of Francis Greenwood Peabody, Washington Gladden, and Walter Rauschenbusch," Church History 62 (March 1993): 82-100 in JSTOR
  • Edwards, Wendy J. Deichmann, and Carolyn De Swarte Gifford, eds.. Gender and the Social Gospel (2003) excerpt and text search
  • Fraser, Brian J. The Social Uplifters: Presbyterian Progressives and the Social Gospel in Canada, 1875-1915 (1990)
  • Gorrell, Donald K. The Age of social Responsibility: The Social Gospel in the Progressive Era, 1900-1920 (Mercer University Press, 1988)7
  • Handy, Robert T. ed. The Social Gospel in America, 1870-1920 (1966)
  • Handy, Robert T. "George D. Herron and the Kingdom Movement," Church History 19 (June 1950): 97-115,
  • Hopkins, Charles Howard. The Rise of the Social Gospel in American Protestantism, 1865-1915. (1940), the standard history; online edition
  • Hutchison, William R. "The Americanness of the Social Gospel; An Inquiry in Comparative History," Church History, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Sep., 1975), pp. 367-381 online in JSTOR
  • King, William McGuire. "History as Revelation" in the Theology of the Social Gospel," The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 76, No. 1 (Jan., 1983), pp. 109-129 in JSTOR
  • Latta, Maurice C. "The Background for the Social Gospel in American Protestantism," Church History , Vol. 5, No. 3 (Sep., 1936), pp. 256-270 online at JSTOR
  • Lindley, Susan H. "Women and the Social Gospel Novel," Church History, Vol. 54, 1985 online edition
  • Luker, Ralph E. The Social Gospel in Black and White American Racial Reform, 1885-1912. (1991)online edition ; also excerpt and text search
  • McNaught, Kenneth. A Prophet in Politics: A Biography of J. S. Woodsworth (1959), on Cabada. online edition
  • McDowell, John Patrick. The Social Gospel in the South: The Women's Home Mission Movement in the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1886-1939 (1982)
  • Marty, Martin E. Modern American Religion, Vol. 1: The Irony of It All, 1893-1919 (1986); Modern American Religion. Vol. 2: The Noise of Conflict, 1919-1941 (1991)
  • Meyer, Donald. The Protestant Search for Political Realism, 1919-1941 (1988) online edition
  • Muller, Dorothea R. "The Social Philosophy of Josiah Strong: Social Christianity and American Progressivism," Church History 1959 v 28 #2 pp. 183-201] online at JSTOR * Rogers, Jack B., and Robert E. Blade, "The Great Ends of the Church: Two Perspectives," Journal of Presbyterian History (1998) 76:181-186.
  • Smith, Gary Scott. "To Reconstruct the World: Walter Rauschenbusch and Social Change," Fides et Historia (1991) 23:40-63
  • Smucker, Donovan E. The Origins of Walter Rauschenbusch's Social Ethics 1994 online edition
  • White Jr. Ronald C. Liberty and Justice for All: Racial Reform and the Social Gospel (1877-1925) (2002) excerpt and text search
  • White, Ronald C., Jr. and C. Howard Hopkins. The Social Gospel. Religion and Reform in Changing America (1975).
  • Zald, Mayer N., and Patricia Denton. "From Evangelism to General Service: The Transformation of the YMCA," Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Sep., 1963), pp. 214-234 in JSTOR

Primary sources

External link


See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Rogers and Blade 1998
  2. ↑ See Latta, (1936); Hutchison (1975)
  3. ↑ See Fraser (1990)
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