Social Gospel And Fundamentalism

Introduction

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the social gospel movement became a broad religious and powerful movement that supported many reforms related to social issues. The ideas it generated for social justice are still influencing today’s policy. As the civil war ended in 1865, a religious movement was started by the liberal Chiritians, 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. When people saw that industrialization was bringing wealth disparity and urban poverty and people were less interest in their religious gathering because of the reason that people of Europe, especially Roman Catholics, started migration towards the United States, they became more interested in social justice.

Protestants Ministers started preaching and believing that deliverance is not just only dependent on loving God, but it is dependent on behaving like Jesus, doing good works, loving your relatives and neighbors and taking good care of the needy and poor people^[2]. “What Jesus would do?” is a phrase that is very famous in that Christians use whenever they face a dilemma, either ethical or moral came into existence because of the popularity this phrase gained in 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 has 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 of all the immigrants, and thus, sleaziness and poverty followed everyone everywhere.

As a result of all this, numerous religions also emerged, such as the catholic churches of congregations^[3]. Many Jewish synagogues were built, and some Eastern Orthodox also, 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 have developed in themselves because of the urbanization and industrializton has taken away all the benefits that could be beneficial for all the human race. They worked to bring a cure for political and social ills that are 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 coup, 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 a lot to the poor and also to the immigrants to make an improvement in 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 include 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].

Social Gospel movement also gives rise to many other movements like liberation movements, anti-war organizing and liberation theology in other countries.

Provision Of Social Legacy

Despite being shortlived, 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 thing changed the whole scenario, and a lot of social, cultural and wealth disparity caused panic in the affected areas. This movement helped a lot for the 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 only used to allude 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 feel of the time period, the foremost religions of the sectarian 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 fundamentalism term, 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 grooming in the US^[8]. Against the liberal challenge, the most logical reply was the Fundamentalists; an encyclopedia was started to publish, which was the base of this movement.

Cultural And Political Developments

Critiques 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 can 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 critiques 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 of common use, and it is applied broadly, but we should always remember that myriad movements are designated 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. http://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. http://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. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/Fundamentalism.html.

“Evolution: Library: Scopes Trial.” 2018. Pbs.Org. Accessed April 3 2018. http://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. http://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. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5070/.

2018. Historytools.Davidjvoelker.Com. Accessed April 3 2018. http://historytools.davidjvoelker.com/sources/Rauschenbusch.pdf.

1. “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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2. 2018. Historytools.Davidjvoelker.Com. Accessed April 3 2018. http://historytools.davidjvoelker.com/sources/Rauschenbusch.pdf.

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3. “NOW With Bill Moyers. Society And Community. History Of The Social Gospel | PBS”. 2018. Pbs.Org. Accessed April 3 2018. http://www.pbs.org/now/society/socialgospel.html.

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4. “Shall The Fundamentalists Win?”: Defending Liberal Protestantism In The 1920S”. 2018. Historymatters.Gmu.Edu. Accessed April 3 2018. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5070/.

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5. Rauschenbusch, Walter. A theology for the social gospel. Westminster John Knox Press, 1917. ↑

6. Linder, Douglas. 2018. “The Rise Of Fundamentalism In America”. Law2.Umkc.Edu. Accessed April 3 2018. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/Fundamentalism.html.

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7. “Evolution: Library: Scopes Trial.” 2018. Pbs.Org. Accessed April 3 2018. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/08/2/l_082_01.html.

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8. “The Social Gospel And The Progressive Era, Divining America, Teacherserve®, National Humanities Center.” 2018. Nationalhumanitiescenter.Org. Accessed April 3 2018. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/twenty/tkeyinfo/socgospel.htm.

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9. Shurden, Walter B., ed. The Struggle for the Soul of the SBC: Moderate Responses to the Fundamentalist Movement. Mercer University Press, 1993. ↑

10. “Shall The Fundamentalists Win?”: Defending Liberal Protestantism In The 1920S”. 2018. Historymatters.Gmu.Edu. Accessed April 3 2018. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5070/.

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