The
Social Gospel was a Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada. The movement applied
Christian ethics to
social problems, especially issues of
social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean environment, child labor, inadequate labor unions, poor schools, and the danger of war. Theologically, the Social Gospellers sought to operationalize the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:10):
"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven." They typically were
post-millennialist; that is, they believed the
Second Coming could not happen until humankind rid itself of
social evils by human effort. The Social Gospel was more popular among clergy than laity. Its leaders were predominantly associated with the liberal wing of the
Progressive Movement, and most were
theologically liberal, although a few were also
conservative when it came to their views on social issues. Important leaders include
Richard T. Ely,
Josiah Strong,
Washington Gladden, and
Walter Rauschenbusch.