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The Social Gospel in American Religion

INSTRUCTOR'S GUIDE

A remarkable history of the powerful and influential social gospel movement. The global crises of child labor, alcoholism and were all brought to our attention through the social gospel movement. Its impact on American society makes it one of the most influential developments in American religious history. Christopher H. Evans traces the development of the social gospel in American , and illustrates how the religious idealism of the movement also rose up within Judaism and Catholicism. Contrary to the works of previous historians, Evans demonstrates how the presence of the social gospel continued in American culture long after its alleged demise following World War I. Evans reveals the many aspects of the social gospel and their influence on a range of social movements during the twentieth century, culminating with the in the 1950s and 1960s. It also explores the relationship between the liberal social gospel of the early twentieth century and later iterations of social reform in late twentieth century evangelicalism. The Social Gospel in American Religion considers an impressive array of historical figures including Washington Gladden, Emil Hirsch, Frances Willard, Reverdy Ransom, , Stephen Wise, John Ryan, Harry Emerson Fosdick, A.J. Muste, Georgia Harkness, and Benjamin Mays. It demonstrates how these figures contributed to the shape of the social gospel in America, while arguing that the movement’s legacy lies in its profound influence on broader traditions of liberal- progressive political reform in American history.

304 PAGES • PAPER APRIL 2017 • 978-1-4798-8857-3

WWW . NYUPRESS . ORG NYU PRESS 2 INTRODUCTION social gospelisdefinedbytheauthor? term positively or negatively? How do your examples compare to the ways that the theuse examples your Do used? is term the how in themes common be to seem hasbeenusedinblogs,columns,editorials,etc.).Whator thewaysthatterm least five examples of how the term is applied (this could include formal definitions Have students conduct a web search “the social gospel” and identify at ontheterm ASSIGNMENT/CLASS EXERCISES QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION broader contributionsto the riseofpoliticalleftintwentiethcentury. American evangelicalismandliberalism,whilealsoemphasizingthemovement’s Judaism. The introduction identifies the social gospel’s relationship to traditions of the socialgospelalsohadanimpactonarangeofmovementsinCatholicismand nineteenth-century historicaldevelopmentsinAmericanProtestantism, themesof a as significance gospel’smovement ofreligious idealism inAmericanhistory. Whileassociatedwithlate social the of overview an provides introduction The SUMMARY 1. religious history? American in movement a as gospel social the define themes major What Introduction NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE 3

CHAPTER ONE Chapter One Chapter What historical factors contributed to the rise of the social gospel during to the rise of the social gospel during What historical factors contributed the nineteenth century? impact the social following the Civil War How did changing demographics gospel? the term Gladden mean by “social salvation”? What did Washington women and African Americans How did late nineteenth-century Protestant salvation” within their ministries? model distinctive examples of “social the Social Gospel in Nineteenth Century in Nineteenth Gospel Social the America 1. 2. 3. 4. “A Perfect Man in a Perfect Society”: The Emergence of The Society”: Emergence a Perfect Man in Perfect “A THE SOCIAL GOSPEL IN AMERICAN RELIGION Identify examples of contemporary religious and secular leaders who you think How did the the concept of “social salvation” in their public careers. represent figures that you selected compare/contrast to the figures of the late nineteenth century social gospel? ASSIGNMENT/CLASS EXERCISES QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION SUMMARY This chapter focuses on the Framed against the gave birth to the social gospel. that American Protestantism shifting nineteenth-century historical context of sought to “Christianize” evangelical Protestants of an era in which many backdrop such pioneers gospel social early how explores chapter the world, the and America and Frances Willardhelped to shape the Josiah Strong, Gladden, as Washington gospel. These leaders the birth of the social idealism that characterized religious theology, liberal a within heritage evangelical earlier an of aspects together mixed articulating what figures like Gladden described as “social salvation”—a to transform mission was the imperative individuals as belief that central to Christianity’s well as social structures. Chapter Two Interpreting the “Golden Rule”: Turn-of-the Century Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish Reformers

SUMMARY

This chapter discusses how the social currents of the late nineteenth century contributed to the theological development of the social gospel. In particular, it pays attention to what was at times a symbiotic relationship between historical interpretations of and political socialism. Examining important figures such as , George Herron, Shailer Mathews, and Reverdy Ransom, the chapter also explores this connection among a wide cross section of Protestant churches to developing traditions of social reform within Catholicism and Judaism. These examinations underscore the ways in which Catholic and Jewish reform outlooks complemented and challenged the assumptions of the dominant Protestant churches. CHAPTER TWO

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. How did Protestant interpretations of Jesus’ historical significance influence the rise of the social gospel?

2. How did social gospel leaders relate their understandings of Jesus to models of political socialism?

3. What were the key similarities and differences between Protestant and Jewish visions of social reform in the late nineteenth century?

4. What was the significance of the papal document toward shaping a broader tradition of Catholic social teachings in the United States?

ASSIGNMENT/CLASS EXERCISES

Have students read Charles Sheldon’s novel In His Steps (available online at https:// archive.org/details/inhisstepswhatwo00shel). How did Sheldon’s description of Jesus fit into the larger worldview of the late nineteenth-century social gospel? Why do you feel the expression “WWJD?” remains popular today?

4 NYU PRESS INSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE CHAPTER THREE Chapter Three Kingdom Coming: The Social Gospel and “the Social Awakening” in the Early Twentieth Century

SUMMARY

This chapter investigates how the theology of the social gospel matured by the early twentieth century. Walter Rauschenbusch and his 1907 book, Christianity and the Social Crisis, helped broaden the popularity of the social gospel in America. At the same time, Rauschenbusch’s social gospel was complemented by a wide range of reformers such as Harry F. Ward and Vida Dutton Scudder. Along with figures in American Judaism, such as Stephen Wise, and Catholicism, such as John Ryan, religion was at the center of what many Americans referred to in the early twentieth century as “the social awakening.”

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. How did Walter Rauschenbusch contribute to the rise of the social gospel in America?

2. What were the primary emphases in the social creed of the Methodist Episcopal Church? How did the social creed impact the subsequent development of the social gospel in American Protestantism?

3. How did Stephen Wise, John Ryan, and Vida Dutton Scudder’s views on reform complement and challenge the dominant theological assumptions of Protestant social gospel leaders?

4. How did the predominant male leadership of the social gospel movement view issues related to gender equality?

ASSIGNMENT/CLASS EXERCISES

Read Leo XIII encyclical Rerum Novarum (http://w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/ encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html) and selections from Walter Rauschenbusch’s Christianity and the Social Crisis. How do these two works compare/contrast with one another, especially related to specific models of political reform?

THE SOCIAL GOSPEL IN AMERICAN RELIGION 5 6 CHAPTER FOUR that thesteelindustrywasfilledwithcommunistsympathizers? as thekeyissuesbehindSteelStrike?Howdoes itrespond totheaccusation ( Read theInterchurch World Movement’s “ReportoftheSteelStrike of1919” ASSIGNMENT/CLASS EXERCISES QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION of thesocialgospeltraditionthroughout thetwentiethcentury. inside andoutsidetheseinstitutionscreated arupture thatshapedtheevolution American within Protestantism. triumphs Atthesame time,developingtheologicalandmissionaltensions institutional their of confident were Rauschenbusch as theFederalCouncilofChurches. Ononehand,socialgospelleaderslike the permeated evangelical organizations liketheYMCA,YWCA,andemerging bodiessuch gospel social the which in institutional fabricofnumerous Protestant structures,long-standing transforming era an constituted 1920 to 1908 approximately from years The Protestantism. American within primarily religion, This chapter examines the social gospel’s institutional ascendency within American SUMMARY “The Church “The Stands For…”: Institutionalizing the Social https://archive.org/details/reportonsteelstr00inte). Whatdoesthereport identify 4. 3. 2. 1. changes inthedevelopmentofsocialgospelafterWorld War I? How did Protestant responses to the Steel Strike of 1919 reflect significant social gospel? How didWorld War Ialterthetheologicalandmissionalobjectivesof the socialgospel? What was the significance of the YMCA and YWCA to the development of World War I? development ofthesocialgospelpriortoUnitedStates’entryinto How didtheriseofProtestant ecumenical movementimpactthe Chapter Four Gospel NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE 7

CHAPTER FIVE Chapter Five Chapter between the World Wars World the between What was the relationship between groups like the YMCA and the like the YMCA and the between groups What was the relationship termsin Reconciliation of Fellowship social the of dissemination the of gospel during the interwar period? How did play a formative in the dissemination role and 1930s? of social gospel ideals in the 1920s during gospel social the of dissemination the in play pacifism did role What the interwar period? What was the relationship between the social gospel and youth/young adults during the interwar period? “After Rauschenbusch—What?”: The Social Gospel The Gospel Social Rauschenbusch—What?”: “After 1. 2. 3. 4. THE SOCIAL GOSPEL IN AMERICAN RELIGION Review at least one issue of motive magazine (http://sth-archon.bu.edu/motive/ motive.html) from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s). What are the chief social discussion? How does the content and style of issues that animate the magazine’s the journal its first issue in 1941 until its final one in 1972? change from ASSIGNMENT/CLASS EXERCISES QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION SUMMARY period, interwar the during gospel social the of growth the discusses chapter This from the early 1920s to the early 1940s. Part of the Reconciliation of Fellowship the like organizations of foundation the in seen be social gospel’s legacy can (FOR) and its partnership with older FOR and YMCA were the With Protestant theology, steeped in social gospel leadership organizations like the YMCA. drawing and increasingly reform economic radical in promoting instrumental These racism. and pacifism, internationalism, militarism, as such issues to attention organizations reflected growing a radicalism among younger drawn to a wide were Americans, religion, institutionally-based while often alienated from who, activism social later a model for that served as youth movements of religious range in the twentieth century. 8 CHAPTER SIX ). How do these speeches reflect upon reflect speeches these significant themes/aspectsofthesocialgospelmovement? do How com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm). example, (for speeches Silence” Break to Time “A Read the text or listen to recordings of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” and ASSIGNMENT/CLASS EXERCISES QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION of socialchangeinapostcolonialworld. the liberalismassociatedwithsocialgospelcouldbeaneffective instrument which to extent the about issues raised theologians Christian of range a gospel, questioned manyofthegradualistpoliticalsuppositionsclassicsocial religioussome as Just 1930sgospel. and social 1920s the the of in critics radicals gospel inAmerica,theyearsfollowinghisdeathwitnessedaspateoftheological King’ssuccesses innonviolentdirect actionrepresented ahigh-watermarkforthesocial Although heritage. gospel social the of aspects various manifested who of the civil rights movement, King’s success was undergirded by a range of leaders story the Jr.figure in King, central Luther the Martin certainly While is 1970s. and how it engaged emerging currents from the religious and political left in the 1960s This chapterdiscussesthesocialgospel’s impactonthecivilrightsmovementand SUMMARY 4. 3. 2. 1. Achieving the “Beloved Community”: CivilRights, ita,adteTiih fthe Social Gospel Vietnam, andthe Twilight of the earlierassumptionsofsocialgospelliberalism? How did emerging traditions of critique and challenge the socialgospel? Jr.’sKing, Luther Martin indid rooted How foundation a upon build ideas society? American for beliefs gospel social early upon reflect Churches of Council How didtheecumenicalaspirationsofFederalCouncilandNational Luther King, Jr.? Martin influence Mays Benjamin and Thurman Howard did How Chapter Six NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE http://www.americanrhetoric. 9

CHAPTER SEVEN Chapter Seven Chapter Progressive Evangelicalism Progressive

What theological themes did the religious right borrow from the classic the classic from right borrow religious What theological themes did the social gospel? the legacies of Walter appropriate How did conservative evangelicals Rauschenbusch and Martin Luther King, Jr. within their visions of social reform? a as evangelicalism progressive of characteristics chief the are What to aspects of the earlier compare movement? How does the movement social gospel? What have been the most significant demographic shifts in late twentieth century/ early twenty-first century Americanreligion, and how have they institutions? impacted liberal religious 1. 2. 3. 4. An Evangelical Social Gospel?: The and The Gospel?: Social and Right Christian An Evangelical THE SOCIAL GOSPEL IN AMERICAN RELIGION ASSIGNMENT/CLASS EXERCISES Watch the video of the Rev. Paul Raushenbush discussing his the influence of Great-Grandfather, Walter description of the watch?v=_0IE9NhvLoc). How does Paul Raushenbush’s Rauschenbusch (https://www.youtube.com/ to some of the wider historical tensions between religious social gospel relate and early twenty- twentieth in the late progressives and religious evangelicals first centuries? QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION SUMMARY This chapter examines the rise of the Christian Right in the late twentieth century, an older social gospel conservative evangelicals reinvigorated analyzing how many rhetoric of activism—from a politically conservative base. For many conservative phrase to describe how religion social gospel became a catch-all evangelicals, the the of radicalism of the left. While the emergence the perceived was co-opted by the chapter twentieth century, a major development of the late Christian Right was many In evangelicalism.” “progressive as known commonly group a examines also election ways, in Ronald 1980 Reagan’s was symbolic not only of the ascendency the institutional displacement of the like the Christian Right, but of of groups social gospel. left, associated with the heirs of the religious 10 CONCLUSION gospel movement? social the Obama’s of do different aspects How upon reflect pinckney). comments press-office/2015/06/26/remarks-president-eulogy-honorable-reverend-clementa- (https://www.whitehouse.gov/the- speech: Charleston Obama’s President Read ASSIGNMENT/CLASS EXERCISES QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION twenty-first century. first century, providing a summation of its historical impact and its prospects in the The book’s conclusion reflects upon the social gospel’s legacy in the early twenty- SUMMARY 1. American religious history? What historicalthemesbestsummarizetherole ofthesocialgospelin Conclusion NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE