Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Valerie Jean Conner, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed 6/15/04). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Div.)--Multnomah Biblical Seminary, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-86).

Thesis (M. Div.)--Multnomah Biblical Seminary, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-86).

This project follows recent scholarship that challenges an older paradigm of the social gospel tradition's demise after World War I. It undertakes a multifaceted analysis of Harry Emerson Fosdick, his local and national audiences, and his context of The Riverside Church--as building and as congregation--as a means of tracing the contours of the social gospel through the Great Depression. Fosdick was an internationally known liberal Protestant minister who was prominent in efforts to rearticulate the social gospel and maintain its relevance in the postwar period. He grounded his interpretation of the social gospel in personalist philosophy, which asserted individual personality as irreducible, yet also shaped within social networks. Personalism manifested liberal Protestantism's emphasis on experience, pairing well with the interest in psychology that burgeoned in the early twentieth century, and which was prominent in Fosdick's preaching and writing. I refer to this threefold convergence of liberal theology, social gospel critique and activism, and personalist philosophy as social gospel personalism. While social gospel personalism promoted activity to bring about social change, I find within it a rhetorical tendency to prioritize attention to the psychological development of personality as the primary means through which the aim of transforming society would be met. In this dissertation, I attend to the ways in which social gospel personalism as articulated by Fosdick and embodied in The Riverside Church was particularly classed, with attendant blind spots and limitations, while simultaneously serving to provide its white, middle class adherents with a religious grounding that helped them weather a period of acute social and economic upheaval. Recent scholarship on American religious liberalism seeks to move beyond the narratives of Protestantism, but I argue that Fosdick and Riverside, by virtue of their cultural prominence, represent an important attempt to find personal grounding amidst depersonalizing social currents, and a religious vocabulary for critiquing those social forces that diminished the person. To make this argument, I engage social gospel personalism from multiple angles. I begin with an analysis of Fosdick's preaching and writing, situating him within the social gospel tradition and tracing the presence of personalist thought throughout his message. I then consider Fosdick as a mediated phenomenon, allowing an examination of the ways in which his message was received and utilized by his multiple audiences, suggesting that the dynamics of mediation tended to heighten the individual, existential elements of Fosdick's message. In turning to the Riverside Church itself, I interpret the building as a site within which social gospel personalism was embodied and enabled, attending to the utilization of space as both reflective of and formative of religious practice. Finally, I analyze two of Riverside's programmatic responses to the vast unemployment engendered by the Great Depression as a means of illuminating the ways in which social gospel personalism was and was not prepared to meet the crisis. / Religion

John Wesley was a well educated son of a cleric, who chose to be a theologian and a minister in the Church of England. His theological distinctive was his insistence on the possibility of entire sanctification in this lifetime. In response to their position on sanctification, Wesley and the Methodists sought to save souls and cure the ills in society because they believed it was divinely mandated. Their love and work for the less fortunate was a response to their love for God and in obedience to His commandments. This is the great success of their work. They were able to serve God and their generation in a balanced yet inseparable way. The result of Wesley's life, direct and indirect, was that the social and spiritual plight of thousands of individuals and families was improved and dozens of church groups, missionary societies and benevolent organisations have emerged / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / Th.M. (Church History)

Church Women United incorporated in December 1941 as an interdenominational and interracial movement of liberal Protestant women committed to social reform. The one hundred organizers represented ten million Protestant women across the United States. They organized with the express purposes of helping to bring peace on Earth and to develop total equality within all humanity. Church Women United was the bridge between the First and Second Wave of Feminism and the bridge between the Social Gospel and Social Justice Movements. Additionally they connected laterally with numerous social and religious groups across American society. As such, they exemplify the continuity and matrix of reform in American history. Because they worked to promote international peace, develop positive race relations, and advance women’s rights, their campaigns give us a model for how to rectify the social problems of today. These women used communal prayer, politics, education, and hands-on labor to promote their ideas. They originated in collective prayer and continued this tool, but they added letter writing campaigns, public education forums, and lobbying politicians at all levels including the president to advance their goals. They held massive campaigns to collect needed items for war-torn countries and natural disaster areas as well as acting as counselors to the needy. They raised public awareness of issues facing migrant laborers, inner-city residents, Native Americans, Japanese internment detainees, and then worked hard to ameliorate the worst of these problems. They promoted literacy around the world, as well as new agricultural techniques to address human conditions that were known to lead to political and social unrest. This dissertation covers the mid-twentieth century while being predominately focused on the years 1941-1968. This study is built upon multiple archives across the United States and oral histories of movement leaders. It is one of the first interdenominational studies focused on the work of women in social reform work. This dissertation enlarges our knowledge of feminism and social reform work.

John Wesley was a well educated son of a cleric, who chose to be a theologian and a minister in the Church of England. His theological distinctive was his insistence on the possibility of entire sanctification in this lifetime. In response to their position on sanctification, Wesley and the Methodists sought to save souls and cure the ills in society because they believed it was divinely mandated. Their love and work for the less fortunate was a response to their love for God and in obedience to His commandments. This is the great success of their work. They were able to serve God and their generation in a balanced yet inseparable way. The result of Wesley's life, direct and indirect, was that the social and spiritual plight of thousands of individuals and families was improved and dozens of church groups, missionary societies and benevolent organisations have emerged / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / Th.M. (Church History)

Cette thèse se propose d’étudier les relations entre l’Organisation Internationale du Travail (OIT), créée en 1919 par le traité de Versailles, et les milieux chrétiens, c’est-à-dire les chrétiens organisés en Eglises, syndicats, et associations, depuis la fondation de l’OIT jusqu’au voyage de Paul VI à Genève pour son cinquantenaire, en 1969. Alors que l’OIT est, dès sa création, soumise à des influences sociales-démocrates, incarnées notamment par la personnalité du premier directeur, le socialiste français Albert Thomas, des relations sont nouées très tôt avec les syndicats chrétiens, puis avec l’ensemble des groupes se réclamant de la doctrine sociale de l’Eglise, du Saint-Siège et du christianisme social. Albert Thomas demande lui-même la nomination d’un prêtre au sein du Bureau International du Travail, le secrétariat de l’OIT, obtenue en 1926. Un fonctionnaire est également nommé pour les relations avec les milieux protestants. Il s’agit de mettre en évidence dans quelle mesure la collaboration des milieux chrétiens a pu constituer un intérêt et un appui pour l’OIT, dans les missions que celle-ci s’est vu confier à sa naissance – établissement d’une législation internationale du travail, recension d’informations sur les conditions de travail dans le monde – et après 1945 – notamment la coopération technique - et dans son développement et sa pérennité par delà la dissolution de la SDN. Il convient aussi de voir quelles ont été les conséquences pour les milieux chrétiens de l’inclusion dans le système international créé par l’OIT, tant en termes de diffusion de leurs idées que par la confrontation qui s’y produit avec les doctrines sociales-démocrates, communistes et, dans une moindre mesure, fascistes. / This thesis aims to study the relationship between the International Labour Organization, created in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles, and Christian “milieus”. In other words, the relationship between the ILO and all the Christian churches, trade unions and associations, from the birth of the ILO to Pope Paul VI’s trip to Geneva on the occasion of the ILO’s fiftieth anniversary in 1969. Since its creation, the ILO has been heavily influenced by socialist trade unions and parties, beginning with Albert Thomas, the first Director-General, who was himself a French socialist. However, since 1921, relationships have also been established with Christian trade unions and other Christian groups which had previously been involved before 1914 in the first attempts to set up international labour standards. An official position was created in 1926 at the International Labour Office when Albert Thomas requested that a Jesuit priest be appointed as “counselor in religious matters”. From 1927 to 1940, the ILO also had a Protestant counselor in charge of the relations with Protestant churches and organizations. The objective of my research is to show, on the one hand, that ILO had an interest in a strong relationship with Christian churches and organizations in order to promote its own objectives – objectives such as establishing internationally binding labour standards, collecting information on labour around the world and, mainly after 1945, developing technical cooperation programmes. The aim here is to analyze the extent to which this relationship played a role in the ILO’s development and survival after the end of the League of Nations. Conversely, my research also intends to highlight how Christian organizations were impacted as a result of their participation in activities of international organizations such as the ILO. There are two aspects which are important to explore: first, the role the ILO played in supporting the dissemination of Christian ideas; and secondly, the ideological confrontation with socialist, communist and – to a lesser extent – fascist ideas and their supporters.

Text in German / The present dissertation considers the historical and theological foundations of radical evangelicalism and puts it in the context of theologies which influenced it and are similar to it. It will be demonstrated that the evangelicals are enriched by radical evangelicalism - an evangelical basic concept with elements of anabaptism, the social gospel, liberation theology and the ecumencial theologies. Thus it will be demonstrated that radical theology is genuinely evangelical, yet is capable of overcoming the one sidedness of western evangelical theology. Special attention is given to the contributions of radicals from North America as well as from Latin America since they are of considerable importance to radical evangelicalism. The aim of the dissertation is to present radical evangelicalism, to critically evaluate it, and to make it profitable to the European evangelical scene. The first section names the sources from which radical theology flowed. The second section reviews the historical development of radical evangelicalism. It will be demonstrated that, in the thirty years of its existence, radical evangelicalism has become a significant factor within the worldwide evangelical movement. The third section presents the fundamental characteristics of radical theology within a selection of themes. It demonstrates that the radicals have confronted the evangelical movement with a transforming theory of mission, which shows itself to be relevant for today's pressing problems. The fourth section describes the social action of radical evangelicalism and demonstrates that the energetic theology of the radicals is in fact based on a compelling spirituality. The fifth section records the results of the investigation and presents conclusions for praxis and further theological study. / Die voriiegende Dissertation erfasst die geschichtlichen und theologischen Grundlinien des radikalen Evangelikalismus und stellt ihn in den Kontext ahnlicher und ihn beeinflussender Theologien. Es wird aufgezeigt, dass der radikale Evangelikalismus eine evangelikale Grundkonzeption mit Elementen des Anabaptismus, des Social Gospel, der Befreiungstheologie und der Theologien im Umfeld des Okumenischen Rates der Kirchen bereichert Dabei wird deutlich, dass die radikale Theologie genuin evangelikal ist, die Einseitigkeiten der westlichen evangelikalen Theologie aber zu uberwinden vermag. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit ist den Beitragen radikaler Nord- und Lateinamerikaner gewidmet, da diese den radikalen Evangelikalismus wesentlich gepragt haben. Ziel ist es, den radikalen Evangelikalismus darzustellen, kritisch zu wiirdigen und fur die europaische evangelikale Szene fruchtbar zu machen. Der erste Teil nennt die Quellen, aus denen sich die radikale Theologie speist. Der zweite Teil zeichnet den geschichtlichen Werdegang des radikalen Evangelikalismus nach. Es wird nachgewiesen, dass der radikale Evangelikalismus in den dreissig Jahren seines Bestehens zu einem bestimmenden Faktor in der weltweiten evangelikalen Bewegung geworden ist. Der dritte Teil stellt die Grundzuge der radikalen Theologie mittels ausgewahlter Themen dar. Er zeigt auf, dass die Radikalen die evangelikale Bewegung mit einer transformatorischen Missionstheorie konfrontiert haben, die relevant fur die drangenden Probleme der Gegenwart ist. Der vierte Teil stellt die soziale Aktion des radikalen Evangelikalismus dar und zeigt auf, dass die energische Theologie der Radikalen im Grande genommen zur Tat driingende Spirituality ist. Der funfte Teil halt die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung fest und zieht Folgerungen fur die Praxis und das weitere theologische Arbeiten. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)

Text in German / The present dissertation considers the historical and theological foundations of radical evangelicalism and puts it in the context of theologies which influenced it and are similar to it. It will be demonstrated that the evangelicals are enriched by radical evangelicalism - an evangelical basic concept with elements of anabaptism, the social gospel, liberation theology and the ecumencial theologies. Thus it will be demonstrated that radical theology is genuinely evangelical, yet is capable of overcoming the one sidedness of western evangelical theology. Special attention is given to the contributions of radicals from North America as well as from Latin America since they are of considerable importance to radical evangelicalism. The aim of the dissertation is to present radical evangelicalism, to critically evaluate it, and to make it profitable to the European evangelical scene. The first section names the sources from which radical theology flowed. The second section reviews the historical development of radical evangelicalism. It will be demonstrated that, in the thirty years of its existence, radical evangelicalism has become a significant factor within the worldwide evangelical movement. The third section presents the fundamental characteristics of radical theology within a selection of themes. It demonstrates that the radicals have confronted the evangelical movement with a transforming theory of mission, which shows itself to be relevant for today's pressing problems. The fourth section describes the social action of radical evangelicalism and demonstrates that the energetic theology of the radicals is in fact based on a compelling spirituality. The fifth section records the results of the investigation and presents conclusions for praxis and further theological study. / Die voriiegende Dissertation erfasst die geschichtlichen und theologischen Grundlinien des radikalen Evangelikalismus und stellt ihn in den Kontext ahnlicher und ihn beeinflussender Theologien. Es wird aufgezeigt, dass der radikale Evangelikalismus eine evangelikale Grundkonzeption mit Elementen des Anabaptismus, des Social Gospel, der Befreiungstheologie und der Theologien im Umfeld des Okumenischen Rates der Kirchen bereichert Dabei wird deutlich, dass die radikale Theologie genuin evangelikal ist, die Einseitigkeiten der westlichen evangelikalen Theologie aber zu uberwinden vermag. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit ist den Beitragen radikaler Nord- und Lateinamerikaner gewidmet, da diese den radikalen Evangelikalismus wesentlich gepragt haben. Ziel ist es, den radikalen Evangelikalismus darzustellen, kritisch zu wiirdigen und fur die europaische evangelikale Szene fruchtbar zu machen. Der erste Teil nennt die Quellen, aus denen sich die radikale Theologie speist. Der zweite Teil zeichnet den geschichtlichen Werdegang des radikalen Evangelikalismus nach. Es wird nachgewiesen, dass der radikale Evangelikalismus in den dreissig Jahren seines Bestehens zu einem bestimmenden Faktor in der weltweiten evangelikalen Bewegung geworden ist. Der dritte Teil stellt die Grundzuge der radikalen Theologie mittels ausgewahlter Themen dar. Er zeigt auf, dass die Radikalen die evangelikale Bewegung mit einer transformatorischen Missionstheorie konfrontiert haben, die relevant fur die drangenden Probleme der Gegenwart ist. Der vierte Teil stellt die soziale Aktion des radikalen Evangelikalismus dar und zeigt auf, dass die energische Theologie der Radikalen im Grande genommen zur Tat driingende Spirituality ist. Der funfte Teil halt die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung fest und zieht Folgerungen fur die Praxis und das weitere theologische Arbeiten. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)