Theologies of social transformation: A study of Walter Rauschenbusch and Gustavo Gutierrez

Christian theology whose object is the transformation of the social order is under attack for having reduced Christianity to social justice or secular humanism. In an effort to argue that theologically grounded social transformation is a necessary (though not sufficient) expression of what constitutes Christian faith and a vital contribution to genuine social change, this dissertation offers an interpretation of the work of Walter Rauschenbusch, the German Baptist social gospel theologian, and Gustavo Gutierrez, the Roman Catholic liberation theologian.; The dissertation proceeds to show that notwithstanding their differences, each figure developed a coherent and innovative theological ethic that accurately read the particular situation of poverty and injustice and revised the received theological tradition to respond to that situation. Biblically and theologically informed conceptions of solidarity and justice resulted in certain concrete, socioeconomic analyses and prescriptions. Since each theologian was accused of reductionism of one kind or another, critiques of their theological adequacy are examined. Gutierrez's work is more nuanced in this regard, but both projects are found to be theologically adequate.; The result of this study is that the power of theological ethics to articulate and advance social transformation is vindicated in the face of the argument that doing so reduces the truth claims of Christianity to such transformation. The work of Rauschenbusch and Gutierrez substantiates our thesis that theological modes of analysis can and do ground a new understanding of moral categories and transformative social action. Thus, the future prospects of transformative theological analysis for social change are enhanced. New directions in Christian social ethics befitting the legacy of Rauschenbusch and Gutierrez point to an ethic of solidarity with the poor that synthesizes fundamental moral theology with economic ethics, and that attends to social theory. Further, an ethic of social transformation, in bringing together certain elements of liberalism and communitarianism, can address the current rift between these two schools of thought.