Found Solidarity: How The Working Class Made Social Christianity With Heath Carter Tripp Fuller podcast

Content provided by Dr. Tripp Fuller | Theologian, Philosopher, Minister and Dr. Tripp Fuller | Theologian. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Dr. Tripp Fuller | Theologian, Philosopher, Minister and Dr. Tripp Fuller | Theologian or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

Tripp Fuller »
Found Solidarity: How the Working Class Made Social Christianity with Heath Carter

1d ago 1:21:45

MP3•Episode home

This was a conversation with Heath Carter, historian and author of Union Made: Working People and the Rise of Social Christianity in Chicago. Heath walked us through his journey from growing up in evangelical Orange County to discovering a working-class theological tradition that has been largely erased from our collective memory. We explored how the social gospel wasn’t born in elite seminaries but was hammered out by workers quoting scripture in union halls, threatening to leave churches that sided with their bosses, and forcing institutional Christianity to reckon with inequality. Heath traced how both Protestant and Catholic churches went from being uniformly anti-labor in the late 1800s to embracing living wages and collective bargaining by the New Deal era—not because theologians had brilliant insights, but because grassroots pressure made it pragmatically and theologically untenable to ignore the labor question. We discussed why this tradition was gutted in the late 20th century, what UAW President Sean Fain’s evangelical faith reveals about what’s still possible, and whether democracy can survive when we continually compromise democratic values for market demands. Heath reminded us that 1877 was also a catastrophically bad year in American history, but out of that devastation came movements that actually changed things—not through perfect strategies or ideological purity, but through small, faithful acts and found solidarity that transformed institutional incentives. It’s a story we desperately need to remember right now.

Heath W. Carter is associate professor of American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he teaches and writes about the intersection of Christianity and American public life. Carter is the author of Union Made: Working People and the Rise of Social Christianity in Chicago, which was the runner-up for the American Society of Church History’s 2015 Brewer Prize. He is also the co-editor of three books: The Pew and the Picket Line: Christianity and the American Working Class, Turning Points in the History of American Evangelicalism, and A Documentary History of Religion in America, 4th Ed.

JOIN THE ONLINE CLASS – The God of Justice: Where Ancient Wisdom Meets Contemporary Longing

This transformative online class brings together distinguished scholars from biblical studies, theology, history, and faith leadership to offer exactly what our moment demands: the rich, textured wisdom of multiple academic disciplines speaking into our contemporary quest for justice. Here you’ll discover how ancient texts illuminate modern struggles, how theological reflection deepens social action, and how historical understanding opens new possibilities for faithful engagement with our world’s brokenness and beauty. Join John Dominic Crossan, Peter Enns, Casey Sigmon, Aizaiah Yong, & Malcolm Foley

As always, the class is donation-based, including 0. INFO & Sign-Up at www.FaithAndPolitics.net

Theology Beer Camp is a unique three-day conference that brings together of theology nerds and craftbeer for a blend of intellectual engagement, community building, and fun. This event features a lineup of well-known podcasters, scholars, and theology enthusiasts who come together to “nerd out” on theological topics while enjoying loads of fun activities. Guests this year include John Dominic Crossan, Kelly Brown Douglas, Philip Clayton, Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Jeffery Pugh, Juan Floyd-Thomas, Andy Root, Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Noreen Herzfeld, Reggie Williams, Casper ter Kuile, and more! Get info and tickets here.

Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community.

252 episodes

#Philosophy #Theology #Society #Religion #Christianity #Dr. Tripp Fuller | Theologian, Philosopher, Minister #Dr. Tripp Fuller | Theologian #Faith #Process #Progressive #Liberal