The Social Question

This socio-historical monograph compares the two theologians Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–1918) and Martin Rade (1857–1940) in a transatlantic juxtaposition, with a particular focus on the political and social dimensions of their thought and work. Both theologians belonged to the liberal spectrum of their respective churches and countries, and both emphasized the political-social dimension of the Christian gospel and the responsibility of their churches for society that arises from the kerygma. Walter Rauschenbusch, from a German Lutheran family, is considered the father of the Social Gospel, which gained significant resonance in American churches during the industrialization period before World War I. For Rauschenbusch, the gospel of the Kingdom of God had to have practical social and political consequences. Martin Rade was a theology professor in Marburg and, at times, a member of the German Democratic Party in the Prussian State Assembly. For him, political and social engagement was a necessary task of theology and the church. As editor of the liberal Protestant biweekly journal Die Christliche Welt, he regularly addressed church-political, Christian-social, and cultural-political issues over four decades. Following an introduction outlining the methodology and research questions, the study first provides historical contextualizations: economic history, social policy, theological history, and social ethics. In this context, American and German social Protestantism are compared. The core comparison between the two figures includes their biographies, major publications, central concerns, and a chapter examining their theology, their understanding of the Kingdom of God, and their social-political commitments. A separate chapter offers a more detailed comparison of several specific aspects: (1) The question of war and peace, (2) The plight and rights of workers, (3)Women's and minority rights. Finally, the concerns of Rauschenbusch and Rade are related to current social inequalities in the USA and Germany, and the present-day social-political conditions in both countries are examined in light of their thought.