• Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • Mission
    • History
    • General Synod
    • Leadership and Ministry
    • Staff
    • United Church of Christ Board
  • What We Believe
    • What We Believe
    • Worship Ways
    • Daily Devotional
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Office of the General Minister & President
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
  • News
  • Church Finder
  • Donate Now
  • Search
UCC Logo United Church of Christ
  • Church Finder
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Store
  • Frontline Faith Portal
  • Donate Now
  • Search
  • Who We Are
    • Column
      • About
        • Mission
        • Constitution and Bylaws
        • History
          • UCC Archives
        • UCC Brand Guidelines
        • General Synod
          • Synod 33 Worship Videos
          • Past General Synods
        • Abuse Prevention
    • Column
      • Structure
        • Conferences
        • Affiliated Ministries
          • United Church Funds
          • The Pension Boards
          • Cornerstone Fund
          • Insurance Board
          • The Council for Health and Human Services Ministries
          • Church Building & Loan Fund
          • Convergence
    • Column
      • Team
        • Elected Officers
        • Staff
        • United Church of Christ Board
          • Board Minutes
        • Office of General Counsel
        • UCCOSSN
    • Column
      • Career Opportunities
      • Annual Reports
  • What We Believe
    • Column
      • Worship
        • Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ – La Declaración de Fe de la Iglesia Unida de Cristo
        • Worship Ways
        • Daily Devotional
        • Sermon Seeds
  • How We Serve
    • Column
      • Office of the General Minister & President
        • Welcome to Human Resources
          • Employee Relations Resources
        • Center for Analytics, Research & Development and Data (CARDD)
          • General CARDD FAQs
          • About The Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data (CARDD)
          • Authorized Minister Opt Out
          • Access UCC
          • Assessment Resources
          • Information Policies and Requests
          • Faith Communities Today (FACT) Survey
          • Statistics and Reports
          • Vital Signs and Statistics Blog
          • Data Hub FAQs
          • Data Hub
          • Yearbook and Directory
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Justice
          • Faithful Action Ministries
            • Environmental Justice Ministries
            • Economic Justice
            • Racial Justice
          • Office of Public Policy & Advocacy in Washington D.C.
            • Justice and Peace Action Network
            • Our Faith Our Vote
            • Justice Training Resources
            • Action Center
          • Gender & Sexuality Justice Ministries
            • Disabilities and Mental Health Justice
            • UCC HIV & AIDS Network-UCAN
            • Encuentros Latinx
            • LGBTQ Ministries
            • Our Whole Lives
            • Overdose and Drug Use Ministries
            • Wellness Ministries
            • Scouting
          • The Pilgrim Press & Stillspeaking Publications
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Local Church
          • The Faith Education, Innovation and Formation (Faith INFO)Team
            • Weekly Seeds
            • Youth & Young Adults
          • Worship Resources
            • Worship Ways
            • Sermon Seeds
            • Synod 33 Worship Videos
            • Music and Liturgical Arts
          • Stewardship & Generosity Resources
          • Ministerial Excellence, Support & Authorization (MESA)
            • History, Polity, and Theology
            • Search and Call
            • Ministerial Profiles
            • Ministry Opportunities
            • Manual on Ministry
    • Column
      • Wider Church Ministries
        • Global Ministries
        • Global H.O.P.E.
          • Volunteer Ministries
          • Refugee and Migration Ministries
          • Disaster Ministries
          • Recovering Hope
        • Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
  • Resources
  • News
    • Column
      • News
        • United Church of Christ News
    • Column
      • Columns
        • Witness for Justice
        • Into the Mystic
        • Getting to the Root of It
        • The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog
        • UCC Roots
        • Encounters at the Well
        • Reflexiones
    • Column
      • Upcoming Events
        • Webinars
      • Subscriptions at the United Church of Christ
      • Changes & Deaths
  • Giving
    • Column
      • Donate Now
      • Ways to Give
        • Giving Tuesday
        • Global H.O.P.E.: How to Give
        • Our Church’s Wider Mission
          • Our Church’s Wider Mission Basic Support
          • Strengthen the Church
          • One Great Hour of Sharing
          • Neighbors in Need
          • Christmas Fund
          • 5 for 5
    • Column
      • Ways We Give
        • Scholarships & Grants

  • Home
  • News
  • Column
  • UCC Roots
  • A Gospel with a Social Conscience

A Gospel with a Social Conscience

by Norman Erlendson | published on Feb 1, 2018

washingtongladden.jpgSome of the most memorable people in Church history are those who speak out, saying and doing things that make Christians uncomfortable. In 1905, Washington Gladden, a respected Congregational pastor in Columbus, Ohio, urged that the prestigious American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) return a $100,000 gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr. As America’s first billionaire and a devout Baptist, Rockefeller was the most admired man in America. But Gladden denounced the gift as “tainted money” because it came from an estate acquired through unscrupulous and rapacious business practices. The gift was not returned, but Christian consciousness was raised.

Washington Gladden gave the gospel a social conscience. His “uncomfortable” Social Gospel thinking insisted that institutional sins like racism and inequality were more detrimental to society than the personal sins of individuals. He warned that the concentration of vast wealth in the hands of a few monopolistic corporations undermines the free marketplace and democracy. He was an advocate for labor rights, a living wage, and racial justice.

Gladden called for the application of the “Golden Rule” to all economic, business, and political activities. Social Gospel proponents campaigned with great success to enact progressive reform measures for the betterment and salvation of society. Between 1913 and 1920, Progressive Era amendments to the United States Constitution (the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th) were adopted to make American society more just and equitable. In his final years Rev. Gladden opposed American participation in World War I.

Washington Gladden (1836-1918) died one hundred years ago. He was religion editor of the Independent, a weekly denominational paper with a national readership. Over his fifty-year career he wrote hundreds of articles and authored nearly forty books. He composed the popular hymn, O Master Let Me Walk with Thee.

 

Contributor: Norman Erlendson


Download the PDF
Sign-Up

Categories: Column UCC Roots

Sign Up For Our Newsletter








Privacy Policy






Related News

Witness for Justice

Slowing Down for Justice

While I was pregnant with our second child, our local church held an Advent Fair where we all...

Read More
Witness for Justice

It Is Right and Just

Recently, I have been disturbed by the growing erasure of Thanksgiving as a legitimate holiday...

Read More
Witness for Justice

Bodily Autonomy Matters!

Last week, Ohio sent a decisive message to the legislators of that state and the rest of the...

Read More
  • Column
    • Local Church and Conference Resource Directory
    • Mission
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
    • How can I find local churches near me? Click here!
    • General Synod Resolutions
  • Column
    • Contact
    • News
    • Store

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.

1300 E. 9th Street, Suite 1100
Cleveland, Ohio 44114

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Subscribe on YouTube

Donate Now


UCC Crest
© United Church of Christ 2023. Privacy Policy.
Crafted by Cornershop Creative