SOCIAL GOSPEL

The Social Gospel was a Christian reform movement originating in the late nineteenth century. It was espoused by Protestants, who preached social responsibility as a means to salvation. Adherents believed that the social, economic, and political ills produced by unrestrained capitalism could be addressed by teaching religious values to the working class. They also believed that human nature could be improved by changing the conditions in which people lived and worked.

In addition to building churches in impoverished neighborhoods of American cities, Social Gospel reformers worked within the communities to urge businesses to adopt socially responsible practices. Movement leaders, including clergymen Washington Gladden (1836–1918) of Columbus, Ohio, and Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–1918) of Rochester, New York, acted as mediators between employees and employers. They also wrote books on applying Christian beliefs to alleviate social ills and they worked to lessen the effects of poverty.

The Social Gospel movement was one aspect of a greater progressivism of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Activists—including many young, middle-class individuals—were outraged by the living and working conditions of the urban poor. They argued that government needed to regulate big business—they argued that the doctrine of laissez faire, which opposes government interference in the economy, had only resulted in a capitalist society run amok. This view was at least partly responsible for government legislation imposing some regulations on U.S. industry. It also inspired a spirit of charitable works among many Americans. The reform movement resulted in the passage of building safety codes, enactment of anti-trust laws, approval of health safety standards for the food industry, establishment of settlement houses in inner cities (where residents could participate in educational and social activities), and urban beautification projects.

The legacy of the Social Gospel movement lasted well beyond the first three decades of the twentieth century. Protestant pastor Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) asserted that leaders such as Rauschenbusch had "ushered in a new era of Christian thought and action."