Social Gospel And Darwinism Similarities

Social Darwinism is based off of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. He uses the concept of survival of the fittest. This was used to justify class distinctions and to explain the reason for poverty. Modern science declared that the failure to advance in society was due to the lack of self reliance and determination. They acted down on people who needed government aid. Even during the depression people still believed the notion that the poor were responsible for their fate. The idea of natural superiority was around since the Civil War. So much so, we thought it was okay to own human beings.

Darwinism opened the door to Social Darwinism which was utilized to classify to people. Social Darwinism was a justification for superior behaviors over people being considered poor and incapable of succeeding due to their social class or race. This is where the survival of the fittest came into place. Classifying people based on how successful they were. The more wealthy a person was the

Social Darwinism is based on Charles Darwins thoery of natural evalution. They based a persons fitness off of weath, social status, and property. Poor poeple were seen as lazy, and less fit to survive. They decided that anyone could have a good work ethic, intelligence, and perserverance. Supported the idea of goverment policies should not regulate the market place or atempt social reform. Social Darwinism was also used by Andrew Caenagie and other Industrialists to support thier business practices.

Also, social darwinism goes against the Declaration of Independence because the declaration states, “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator .” The Declaration states all men are made equal by God and then social darwinism states that people are poor or rich based on if God likes them. Mainly people of color weren’t as wealthy because they didn’t have the same opportunity as whites. The wealthy agreed with social darwinism because it continued to put then in

European nations along the west coast of Africa for 300 years have traded slaves, gold, and ivory. During the 1500-1800 Europeans in Africa would mostly buy and sell slaves. Europeans started to gain interest in the continent and shifted to imperialism, and started seizing colonies. What was the rationale behind strong European countries conquering weaker European countries. I believe the three main reasons were Social Darwinism, Economics, and Nationalism.

Social Darwinism began in the late 19th century and early 20th century during the time of The Gilded Age and earlier. Herbert Spencer was a 19th century philosopher and he promoted the idea of Social Darwinism. It basically followed the principle that only the strong would survive and prosper. While this period the technology and economy and government of the

Social Darwinism is a quasi-philosophical, quasi-religious, quasi-sociological view that came from the mind of Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher in the 19th century. It did not achieve wide acceptance in England or Europe, but flourished in this country, as is true of many ideologies, religions, and philosophies. A good summary of Social Darwinism is by Johnson:

The major key in social Darwinism is the natural order of world. Spencer claimed that humanitarians could not change natural order with charity, welfare policies, or legislative actions, and any efforts were doomed to fail. He also strongly endorsed competition as a result of his English industrialism background. He believed in all parts of life, there was unending strife of the weak overpowered by the strong. This was very appealing to business leaders, like Andrew Carnegie who was America’s most prominent follower.

Social Gospel is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: the application of Christian principles to social problems: a movement in American Protestant Christianity especially in the first part of the 20th century to bring the social order into conformity with Christian principles. Walter Rauschenbusch was born in 1861. He was a pastor of the Second Baptist Church in New York City’s “Hell’s Kitchen” for eleven years. His congregation viewed him as a “loving pastor and social prophet” who helped comfort the afflicted.

Darwin's most important part of his studies was using finches which is bird type, to support his theories of natural selection. Darwin spent all of his life dedicated to exploring, scientific collecting, and then eventually theorizing, the most important reason we are here. “To the mass of mankind religion of some kind is a necessity” is my favorite quote from Alfred Russel Wallace. He on the other hand, similar to Darwin's theory of natural selection - studied the more social and spiritual side of things. Although he predated Darwin's theories, Darwin came out on top and is more well known for his theories. Charles Darwin is more well known because he published first. He was the first to

Since time immemorial man has always questioned the origins of life and himself . The answer to that question as there are three alternatives , namely the creation , transformation , or evolutionary biology .

Darwin and Evolution are inextricably linked in the minds of most people who have had the opportunity to study them in basic biology. However, Darwin's theories of selection and survival of the fittest have been applied to moral, economic, political, and other cultural aspects of society. Dennett briefly touched on some of the political and social ramifications of Darwin's theories in the final chapter of Darwin's Dangerous Idea. Other philosophers and thinkers have also adapted Darwin's evolutionary ideas, in order to apply them in a societal or cultural context. One great example of this adaptation of the biological concept of evolution, is the appearance of Social Darwinism during the 19th century.

Missionaries frequently rushed to Africa and Asia to convert its people to Christianity. On the other hand, social Darwinism argued the survival of

     Darwin’s Theories upset the church, one of the things that he proposed was that all living things may have descended from the same species. Today it is believed that life may have started as replicating molecules. Darwin introduced the idea that life is not just evolving but the earth is also changing. This went against creationism, the Bible says that god created the world and all the animals. It also separated man from the animals because god created man in

The concept of Darwinism is more mundanely known as "survival of the fittest." That means that the animals that are best suited for survival, which is best adapted to the society in which they live will be the ones that survive. Those that do not have skills and abilities which will allow them to live and thrive will die out. Consequently the next generation will be more comprised of far more creatures that have the more appropriate characteristics. Some have suggested that the ideas of Darwin can be transposed from the animal kingdom and applied to human behaviors as well. Social Darwinism states that "society advances where its fittest members are allowed to assert their fitness with the least hindrance, and that the unfit should not be prevented from dying out" (Heeney 1). In order for society to progress and evolve, the adept must be allowed to flourish and the poor and destitute be allowed to flounder until they cease to exist. Thus the reason that people are poor and others are wealthy is not because of personal ambition, but because the poor are less suited to the financial and social environment in which we live.