The 2011 RAH Winter Workshop at Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato. Gustavus Professor Sarah Ruble lectured on Religion and Progressivism, discussing the 2nd Great Awakening, in which Protestant Christians were encouraged to reform society.
Professor Ruble lectured on the two branches of Protestantism: The Evangelical movement and Social Gospel movement. Both empasized reform, but in very different ways.
“Where people start in theology really matters, and it gives you an indication of where they are. Evangelicals start with the bible, or they start with revelation: what God says to humanity. For Evangelicals, what God says remains constant. It does not change. Which is why they can open the Bible and just read it as it is written. And the meaning does not change over time. Paul’s social context does not fundamentally alter the meaning of what Paul says. Start with revelation and figure out how to apply it.
"The Social Gospel poll starts with the human situation. What is the human problem? And then goes back and says, how do we understand the Christian tradition in light of it? There are parts of the bible that are more helpful to us than others. The Bible is inspired, but it is a human document, and we can look at the Bible and see the interests behind different teachings. The Bible was written by different human beings who had different political and theological interest groups. Some were interested in the temple and religious power associated with a class of priests. There were those interested in the lower classes, the poor. There are parts of the bible that are more germane to the human problem than others.
“Both can lead into reform. But they are going to have different ideas about the problem, what reform is supposed to do, and how to hold the thing together."
She ended the session with discussions of race and gender reforms (more information on this topic in a forthcoming article), and a series of important questions that are still pertinent today:
"Is there an idea of what American culture is, and is there a group of people who control that idea? Should that be the case? If there is not…can we hang together as a nation, or will we kind of splinter into all sorts of competing factions?
What is the role of religion in public discourse and in law? Do we really expect religious people who believe that god has a perspective not to try to change public discourse?
Where do you start when you’re trying to change human behavior? Do you start with laws, structures, hearts and individuals? Do you have to make a choice?
How constrained are we? How much are we formed by our culture and economy and family of origin, and how much are we free to make that autonomous decision?
Sources on Reform, Religion, and Progressivism
Primary Documents on Religion and Progressivism
(This post and these sources will also be posted under: Workshops / Winter Workshop)
Calling all teachers! There is now a spreadsheet with all of the email addresses of cohort teachers listed so that you can contact each other throughout the year. Please add your phone number and the grade/s that you teach if you would like. The spreadsheet is available 
