1861-1959
Bishop, African Methodist episcopal Church

The Other Social Gospel.

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were marked in American religion by the rise of a movement called the Social Gospel among Protestant clergy. Men such as Josiah Strong, Walter Rauschenbusch, and Washington Gladden developed the idea of the church as a social force helping to ameliorate the difficult living conditions of urban immigrants as well as supporting nascent labor movements. Less well remembered and studied were the Social Gospel thinkers of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. In fact, critics often point to the lack of awareness of race issues on the part of white Social Gospel theologians. Reverdy Cassius Ransom, however, a black African Methodist Episcopal pastor and strong voice for equality in America, had a remarkable career as a pastor, Social Gospel activist, black rights activist, editor, and eventually bishop in his...