Rauschenbusch, Walt
NAME: Rauschenbusch, Walter
ACHIEVEMENT(S): Leader of the Social Gospel movement in the United States
NICKNAME/ALIAS: None
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: October 4, 1861, Rochester, NY
DATE/PLACE OF DEATH/AGE AT DEATH: July 25, 1918, Rochester, NY. Aged 56
DISCIPLINE: Theologian and social reformer
FIELD: Religion
LANGUAGE: English, German
PARENTS: The Reverend Augustus Rauschenbusch; Caroline Rhomp
SIBLINGS: Unknown
SPOUSE: Pauline Rother
CHILDREN: 3 sons, 2 daughters
EDUCATION: Rochester, N.Y. Free Academy; Gutersloh Gymnasium, Westphalia,
Germany; University of Rochester; Rochester Theological Seminary
MAJOR WORK: "Christianity and the Social Crisis"
LIFE AND TIMES:
Rauschenbusch was ordained a minister and was sent to the Second German Baptist Church on the edge of New York City's depressed "Hell's Kitchen" area, where he was appalled at the poverty.
He saw his largely immigrant, blue-collar congregation as helpless victims of the emerging industrial order, and quickly became a social activist.
Rauschenbusch became deaf after an illness at the age of 27, but this did not daunt him. He came under the influence of two young Baptist preachers, Leighton Williams and Nathaniel Schmidt, who, with Rauschenbusch's help, formed a "Society of Jesus."
In November, 1889, they launched a monthly periodical, "For the Right", hoping their voice would reach the workers and help in the establishment of a Christian socialist program.
Publication ceased two years later when Rauschenbusch took sabbatical leave to attend the University of Berlin. He studied economics and the current liberal theology and continued reading <influenced by> Kingsley* and other authors who offered critical analyses of contemporary society. During a trip to England he experienced first-hand the Fabian socialism of <influenced by> Sidney and Beatrice Webb*, the work of the Salvation Army in alleviating urban suffering, and the operation of consumers' cooperatives.
Rauschenbusch returned to New York in 1892 determined to bring what he had seen and learned to the United States, and, with Williams, Schmidt and others, formed the "Brotherhood of the Kingdom", a group committed to practical application of the social teachings of Jesus. In 1893, he married Pauline Rother.
In 1897, he took over from his father as professor in the German department of Rochester Theological Seminary, training German-speaking clergy to minister to German immigrants. In 1902, he became professor of church history, remaining in that post until his death in 1918.
In his first decade as professor at Rochester, Rauschenbusch analysed the effects of the labor movement and of industrial conflicts between workers and employers in American society, and became convinced that the teachings of Christianity offered solutions. He became involved in civic reform in Rochester and was especially interested in education. With Paul Moore Strayer, pastor of Rochester's Third Presbyterian Church and a member of the Central Labor Council, he organized a public, Sunday-evening forum at the church, targeted at a blue-collar audience, where social issues were debated.
Rauschenbusch made his name in religious circles with the publication in 1907 of "Christianity and the Social Crisis", in which he proposed a scheme for translating the New Testament ethic of love into programs for public policy.
Rauschenbusch believed that the Kingdom of God required social as well as individual salvation. He foresaw a "new order" that would rest on the Christian principles of equal rights and democratic distribution of economic power. While he acknowledged his views could be seen as socialist or communist, he did not base his ideas in Marxist ideology, but in his interpretation of the New Testament and the writings of the Hebrew prophets. Through "Christianity and the Social Crisis" and its ideas, Rauschenbusch gradually gained recognition as the major spokesman of the "Social Gospel" movement in the United States.
Specifically, Rauschenbusch called for public ownership of utilities and transportation, fair and equitable wages, improved working conditions, and the redistribution of land to provide adequate housing for workers. At the time these ideas were considered radical. He was criticized in both religious and academic circles for his apparent attack on capitalism.
Rauschenbusch was much in demand as a lecturer on campuses and at public forums. Apart from the curiosity his philosophy had aroused, he was also a compelling public speaker. He combined his passion for the Social Gospel and labor reforms with a sense of humor that invariably won over his audience. He also continued to promote the Social Gospel in his writing, his most popular work being the devotional classic, "For God and the People: Prayers for the Social Awakening".
In a series of lectures delivered at the Pacific School of Religion in 1910 and at the Ohio Wesleyan University in 1911, Rauschenbusch stirringly reaffirmed his dedication to the betterment of industrial society through the application of the Biblical principles of charity and justice. The lectures were published in 1912 as "Christianizing the Social Order".
Rauschenbusch's "A Theology for the Social Gospel", based on his 1917 Taylor lectures at Yale University, is widely considered his most systematic exposition of the liberal theological principles of Social Christianity. Ideas similar to Rauschenbusch's were promoted by <shared views of> Sheldon*.
In politics the Progressive Movement worked for new labor laws that reflected tenets of the Social Gospel. The Movement pressed for the abolition of child labor, a shorter work week, a living wage, and factory regulation. With the rise of organized labor during the 1930s and the legislation of President <ideas facilitated by> Franklin D. Roosevelt*'s New Deal of 1933-39, many of these ideals were realized.
Rauschenbusch did not live to see this. By the time his: "A Theology for the Social Gospel" appeared the First World War had begun, undermining much of Rauschenbusch's optimistic thinking and liberal theology.
ASSESSMENT: A compelling and dynamic campaigner, Rauschenbusch played a
vital role in the social reform movement of the early 20th century in the U.S.
EXTRA CONNECTIONS: None
ONELINER: Walt Rauschenbusch, Social Gospel activist
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
EB
American Dictionary of National Biography