Introduction
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the social gospel movement became a broad and powerful religious movement that supported many reforms related to social issues. The ideas it generated for social justice still influence today’s policy. As the Civil War ended in 1865, liberal Christians started a religious movement which continued until 1920[1]. The main objective of this movement was to end social problems that were emerging in society as a result of urbanization and industrialization by applying the rules and principles that are meant for an individual to the whole society.
Christian communities became more interested in bringing social justice to society when they saw the results of industrialization and urbanization in their community. They saw that industrialization was bringing wealth disparity and urban poverty, while people were becoming less interested in their religious gatherings as people from Europe, especially Roman Catholics, started migrating toward the United States. As a result, they became more interested in social justice.
Protestant ministers started preaching and believing that deliverance is not only dependent on loving God, but also on behaving like Jesus, doing good works, loving your relatives and neighbors and taking good care of the needy and poor people[2]. “What would Jesus do?” is a phrase that became very famous because Christians use it whenever they face a dilemma, either ethical or moral, and it gained popularity through this movement.
Discussion
The population of America was increasing drastically due to the migration of people from central and southern Europe as well as due to industrialization. Clergy thought that the people who were becoming more successful and becoming leaders of society were paying less attention to the values and principles of Christians, as becoming successful had made them greedy. Due to industrialization, there came great wealth disparity, which led to the labor movement that was again supported by the social gospel movement.
American cities faced a rapid increase in the population. A lot of people were migrating towards cities because of industrialization, but yet again, due to limited resources in the cities, they were unable to provide all the necessities that were required by all the immigrants, and thus, sleaziness and poverty followed everyone everywhere.
As a result of all this, numerous religious congregations also emerged, such as Catholic churches[3]. Many Jewish synagogues were built, as were some Eastern Orthodox churches, but the Protestants were continuously losing their parishioners, especially those who belonged to the working class.
Progressivism And Social Gospel
Progressives had a belief that the greed humans had developed in themselves because of urbanization and industrialization had taken away all the benefits that could be beneficial for the human race. They worked to bring a cure for political and social ills that were damaging the roots of America.
Social Gospel addressed many social issues, including crime, poverty, alcoholism, unemployment, racial inequality, drug addiction, civil rights, pollution, voting rights, political corruption, child labor, the threat of war and gun control. Progressives also tried to overcome the issues, most of which were similar to the ones that the social gospel tried to cope with, such as child labor, better working conditions, women’s suffrage and alcoholism.
Accomplishments
One of the major accomplishments that the social gospel had was the settlement movement. This movement helped the poor and immigrants improve their lives. Most of the settlement houses were occupied by the educated class of America who belonged to the upper or middle class. These houses were established in the poor areas. These settlement houses were offering services to the people who lived in the slums in the neighborhood. These services included health care, education and daycare.
Social Gospel And The Civil Rights Movement
Initially, the social gospel movement was a phenomenon to seek out justice for everyone as urbanization and industrialization were causing many social and cultural disparities. Ultimately, the path for the Civil Rights movement was paved. As a result of this civil rights movement, N.A.A.C.P. was formed, which helped the people who were facing racial inequality[4].
The Social Gospel movement also gave rise to many other movements like liberation movements, anti-war organizing and liberation theology in other countries.
Provision Of Social Legacy
Despite being short-lived, the social gospel created a lasting impact on the mainline denomination policies in the United States[5]. Many programs for social reforms began in the US, which led to non-sectarian cooperation, which was all about social issues. The foreign policy approach of the social gospel made a clear impact on nation-building and Christian internationalism.
Conclusions
The Social Gospel movement is one of the most remarkable movements in history and is also known as the most exclusive contribution of America to the Christian world. This movement came into existence as a result of urbanization and industrialization in the US, plus the immigration of people from rural to urban areas. This changed the whole scenario, and a lot of social, cultural and wealth disparity caused panic in the affected areas. This movement greatly helped underprivileged and socially deprived people.
Fundamentalism
Introduction
Fundamentalism is a sort of militantly traditionalist religious development described by the strict adjustment of sacred writing. Once, it was used only to refer to the American Protestants who demanded the inerrancy of the Bible. The term fundamentalism was connected in the late twentieth century to a wide assortment of religious developments. To be sure, in the vast sense of the time period, the foremost religions are said to have fundamentalist movements[6]. Fundamentalism usually comes with a religious tone that indicates tireless attachment to exclusive beliefs.
Despite being unequaled in breadth, fundamentalism has been deeply criticized on many grounds. One of the main objections is that the movements that are being called the fundamentalist movements are less motivated. In most cases, people who joined such movements have suffered from dislocation and stress that is more typically associated with modernism [7]. Another criticism is that it is inappropriate to use the term fundamentalism, which basically refers to the American Protestantism movement, to describe other religious movements, especially non-Western ones.
Discussion
It is a term that is used to outline the reactions to the pressures of modernity and traditional religions. Fundamentalism has become an interesting topic in the academy and in the media during the twentieth century. It is a phenomenon that arises in different societies that are experiencing modernity and have different cultural backgrounds.
Fundamentalism emerged as a response to the liberal views that were rising in the nineteenth century in the American Protestant denominations. For fundamentalists, the obliging trend of modernism threatened moral society and the Christian faith that was growing in the US[8]. Against the liberal challenge, the most logical reply was provided by the Fundamentalists; an encyclopedia began to be published, which was the base of this movement.
Cultural And Political Developments
Critics thought that there were some political objectives behind this movement, but other than a few incidents, the fundamentalists did not try to participate in the political scenario of the United States. By 1970, fundamentalists were divided into two groups: separatists who thought that for all the Christians who were true to their religion, politics would distract them from their original task, and activists who thought that if they got involved in politics, it would be beneficial for them and they could easily spread their views[9].
Problems Of Fundamentalist Paradigm
Fundamentalism proved to be an important and popular idea as it kept the promise of reckoning the perceived patterns of behavior and thinking in different societies with different political and religious cultures[10]. However, the critics believed that the aforementioned patterns have a Western bias that is creating problems. For example, Protestants described themselves against and over modern trends, while in the Muslim world, the majority of Muslims explicitly show their close attitudes toward the Quran.
Conclusion
Christian fundamentalism, notably a marvelous religious movement of the last century, came into existence in chaotic times. Most importantly, it shows the concerns of the majority of the people who think that the role of religion in our daily routine life is diminishing day by day. People who naturally turned towards religion for their own comfort have found many questions about science and modernity. The term fundamentalist is now in common use, and it is applied broadly, but we should always remember that the myriad movements designated by this term vary greatly in character, outlook and origins.
End Notes
“The Most Important Question That Any Man Ever Asked Or Answered “. 2018. Biblebelievers.Com. Accessed April 3 2018. https://www.biblebelievers.com/torrey_sermons/torrey12.html.
“NOW With Bill Moyers. Society And Community. History Of The Social Gospel | PBS”. 2018. Pbs.Org. Accessed April 3 2018. https://www.pbs.org/now/society/socialgospel.html.
“Shall The Fundamentalists Win?”: Defending Liberal Protestantism In The 1920S”. 2018. Historymatters.Gmu.Edu. Accessed April 3 2018. https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5070/.
Rauschenbusch, Walter. A theology for the social gospel. Westminster John Knox Press, 1917.
Linder, Douglas. 2018. “The Rise Of Fundamentalism In America”. Law2.Umkc.Edu. Accessed April 3 2018. https://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/Fundamentalism.html.
“Evolution: Library: Scopes Trial.” 2018. Pbs.Org. Accessed April 3 2018. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/08/2/l_082_01.html.
“The Social Gospel And The Progressive Era, Divining America, Teacherserve®, National Humanities Center.” 2018. Nationalhumanitiescenter.Org. Accessed April 3 2018. https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/twenty/tkeyinfo/socgospel.htm.
Shurden, Walter B., ed. The Struggle for the Soul of the SBC: Moderate Responses to the Fundamentalist Movement. Mercer University Press, 1993.
“Shall The Fundamentalists Win?”: Defending Liberal Protestantism In The 1920S”. 2018. Historymatters.Gmu.Edu. Accessed April 3 2018. https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5070/.
2018. Historytools.Davidjvoelker.Com. Accessed April 3 2018. https://historytools.davidjvoelker.com/sources/Rauschenbusch.pdf.
“The Most Important Question That Any Man Ever Asked Or Answered “. 2018. Biblebelievers.Com. Accessed April 3 2018. https://www.biblebelievers.com/torrey_sermons/torrey12.html.
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2018. Historytools.Davidjvoelker.Com. Accessed April 3 2018. https://historytools.davidjvoelker.com/sources/Rauschenbusch.pdf.
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“NOW With Bill Moyers. Society And Community. History Of The Social Gospel | PBS”. 2018. Pbs.Org. Accessed April 3 2018. https://www.pbs.org/now/society/socialgospel.html.
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“Shall The Fundamentalists Win?”: Defending Liberal Protestantism In The 1920S”. 2018. Historymatters.Gmu.Edu. Accessed April 3 2018. https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5070/.
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- Rauschenbusch, Walter. A theology for the social gospel. Westminster John Knox Press, 1917. ↑
Linder, Douglas. 2018. “The Rise Of Fundamentalism In America”. Law2.Umkc.Edu. Accessed April 3 2018. https://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/Fundamentalism.html.
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“Evolution: Library: Scopes Trial.” 2018. Pbs.Org. Accessed April 3 2018. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/08/2/l_082_01.html.
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“The Social Gospel And The Progressive Era, Divining America, Teacherserve®, National Humanities Center.” 2018. Nationalhumanitiescenter.Org. Accessed April 3 2018. https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/twenty/tkeyinfo/socgospel.htm.
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- Shurden, Walter B., ed. The Struggle for the Soul of the SBC: Moderate Responses to the Fundamentalist Movement. Mercer University Press, 1993. ↑
“Shall The Fundamentalists Win?”: Defending Liberal Protestantism In The 1920S”. 2018. Historymatters.Gmu.Edu. Accessed April 3 2018. https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5070/.
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