Gary Dorrien is the Reinhard Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Religion at Columbia University. He is the author of 14 books and over 200 articles that range across the fields of ethics, social theory, theology, philosophy, politics, and history.

"A masterful, careful, and encyclopedic history of Christian social ethics—from the social gospel to Christian realism to liberationist theologies and beyond. It is simply the definitive history of Christian social ethics in the US—a must-read for scholars, students, and practitioners alike." (Choice)"In this magnificent, sprawling and monumental book, Gary Dorrien maps the origins and development of Christian social ethics in the U.S. by making an insightful analysis of its three major traditions and numerous alternatives.Social Ethics in the Making will soon be recognized as a classic. It is a captivating, expertly written and exhaustively researched pilgrimage through the changing landscape of Christian social ethics." (The Christian Century)

• Plates xAcknowledgments xivIntroduction 11. Inventing Social Ethics: Francis Greenwood Peabody, William Jewett Tucker, and Graham Taylor 6Becoming Francis Greenwood Peabody 7Philosophies of Moral Philosophy 10Beyond Moral Philosophy: Social Ethics 15The Social Question, William Jewett Tucker, and Liberal Theology 20Jesus and the Social Question 25Up from Slavery: The Race Problem in the Social Question 29Retreating to the Seminaries 32Getting Peabody Right 35Christian Sociology: Graham Taylor 36The Social Gospel in the Classroom and Public Square 442. The Social Gospel: Washington Gladden, Josiah Strong, Walter Rauschenbusch, and Harry F. Ward 60Good Theology and the Social Good: Washington Gladden 61The Social Gospel Difference and the Challenge of Darwinism 69Manifest Destiny and the Crucible of Race: Fiske, Gladden, and Josiah Strong 73The Great War and the Social Gospel 79The Socialist Kingdom of God: Walter Rauschenbusch 83Asking the Social Question 87The Kingdom as Political Theology 89German America and the Wider Kingdom 92The Social Crisis and the Social Gospel 94The Social Gospel Ascending 97Christianizing the American Order 99The Great War and the Social Gospel 104Social Christianity and Radical Reconstruction: Harry F. Ward 109Ward, Reinhold Niebuhr, and the Soviet Spirit 1203. Lift Every Voice: Reverdy C. Ransom, Jane Addams, and John A. Ryan 146Becoming Reverdy C. Ransom 147Mainstreaming the Black Social Gospel 158Fostering Democratic Citizenship: Jane Addams 168Democracy, Social Ethics, and Pragmatism 175Social Doctrine in Action: John A. Ryan 185Mainstreaming the Catholic Social Gospel 1994. Christian Realism: Reinhold Niebuhr, H. Richard Niebuhr, John C. Bennett, and Paul Ramsey 226Becoming Reinhold Niebuhr 226Rejecting Social Gospel Idealism 236H. Richard Niebuhr, Liberal Religion, and Radical Monotheism 239Christian Realism as Socialist Faith 244Niebuhrian Realism, World War II, and the Cold War 259The Niebuhrian Method and Legacy 271Making Sense of Niebuhrian Realism: John C. Bennett and Paul Ramsey 276A New Liberal Consensus? 2875. Social Christianity as Public Theology: Walter G. Muelder, James Luther Adams, John Courtney Murray, and Dorothy Day 305Socializing Personalist Theory: Walter G. Muelder 306Moral Theory, Culture, and Christian Social Ethics 316Personalism against the Current 320James Luther Adams and Unitarian Christianity 324Rethinking Religious Freedom and Pluralism: John Courtney Murray 334The American Idea and the Catholic Presence 349Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement 3616. Liberationist Disruptions: Martin Luther King Jr, James H. Cone, Mary Daly, and Beverly W. Harrison 390Martin Luther King Jr and the Beloved Community 391James H. Cone and Black Liberation Theology 396Beyond Patriarchal Religion: Mary Daly and the Rebirth of Feminism 411Christian Feminist Liberation Ethics: Beverly W. Harrison 4217. Disputing and Expanding the Tradition: Carl F. H. Henry, John Howard Yoder, Stanley Hauerwas, Michael Novak, and Jim Wallis 447Carl F. H. Henry and the New Evangelicalism 448John Howard Yoder and the Politics of Jesus 460Thinking Christian Pacifism Through: Stanley M. Hauerwas 474Ideological Americanism: The Neoconservative Reaction 488Michael Novak and Democratic Capitalism 489Interrogating Liberation Theology and the Catholic Bishops 503Progressive Evangelicalism: Jim Wallis 5128. Dealing with Modernity and Postmodernity: Charles Curran, James M. Gustafson, Gibson Winter, Cornel West, Katie G. Cannon, and Victor Anderson 533Moral Theology and the Curran Controversy 534Naturalistic Theocentrism: James M. Gustafson 544Elements for a Social Ethic: Gibson Winter 549Prophetic Public Criticism: Cornel West 563Womanist Ethics: Katie Geneva Cannon 584Taking Postmodernity Seriously: Victor Anderson 5929. Economy, Sexuality, Ecology, Difference: Max L. Stackhouse, Dennis P. McCann, Lisa Sowle Cahill, Marvin M. Ellison, John B. Cobb, Jr, Larry Rasmussen, Daniel C. Maguire, Sharon Welch, Emilie M. Townes, Ada María Isasi-Díaz, María Pilar Aquino, and David Hollenbach 611Capitalist Apologetics as Public Theology: Max Stackhouse and Dennis McCann 612Right Ordering and Sexual Difference 616Lisa Sowle Cahill: Sources, Norms, and Moral Reasoning 618Marvin M. Ellison: Sexual Justice 621Debating Economic Democracy 624Ecology as Political Economics and Theology 626Eco-Justice for the Sake of Everything: Larry Rasmussen and Daniel C. Maguire 630Sharon Welch: Toward an Ethic of Risk and Conflict 637Emilie Townes: Womanism and the Cultural Production of Evil 640Latina Feminisms: Ada María Isasi-Díaz and María Pilar Aquino 646Human Rights and Catholic Social Ethics: David Hollenbach 65710. Borders of Possibility: The Necessity of “Discredited” Social Gospel Ideas 674Social Ethics and Racial Justice 677Foreign Policy Realism and American Empire 680Economic Democracy: The Future of a Discredited Vision 683Index 692