Rauschenbusch, Walter (1861–1918), theologian of the
Social Gospel.Born in Rochester, New York, the son of a prominent German‐American Baptist minister, Walter Rauschenbusch graduated from the University of Rochester and Rochester Theological Seminary. From 1886 to 1897 he served the Second German Baptist Church in
New York City, where exposure to
poverty and
disease profoundly reoriented his thinking toward the social significance of the gospel. Returning to the Rochester seminary in 1897, he taught there until his death.
The central motif that emerged from Rauschenbusch's pastoral experience and theological, historical, and sociological studies, including a European sabbatical in 1891, was the coming Kingdom of God. For him, the kingdom idea encompassed all of Christianity, including its evangelical aspects and its social mission. With several associates, he formed the Brotherhood of the Kingdom (1893), a small but influential mutual‐support network and forum for theological exploration.
Rauschenbusch's critique of
capitalism, especially in
Christianity and the Social Crisis (1907), which brought him national prominence, and
Christianizing the Social Order (1912), identified him as one of the Social Gospel's most radical thinkers. He believed that
socialism was spiritually and morally congruent with Christianity. Although he never joined the
Socialist party, he spoke and wrote under its auspices (and voted for its candidates). His writings, including also
The Social Principles of Jesus (1916) and
A Theology for the Social Gospel (1917), influenced an entire generation of ministers and lay people far beyond his own classroom.
See also
Niebuhr, Reinhold;
Progressive Era;
Protestantism;
Religion.
Bibliography
Dores R. Sharpe , Walter Rauschenbusch, 1942.
Paul M. Minus , Walter Rauschenbusch: American Reformer, 1988.
Jacob H. Dorn
