Social Darwinism and the Social Gospel both emerged in the late-nineteenth century and are two very different concepts.
Herbert Spencer, an intellectual-turned-philosopher, created much of the theory of Social Darwinism. He coined the term "survival of the fittest," which is not in Darwin's work. Spencer took Darwin's theory of evolution—in which Darwin argued that the most able species survived (by which Darwin meant the species most able to reproduce successfully) and the less able died out—and adapted it in ways Darwin never intended.
In Social Darwinism, the most fit people survive in a ruthless struggle for resources and reach the pinnacle of society while the less fit become the poor. It discounts pre-existing social structures and places responsibility for a person's social status completely on the individual; those who rise to top have demonstrated by that rise that they are superior people and deserve what they have. This ignores accidents of birth, such as having wealthy or well-connected parents. It both justified the rich in having wealth and also justified them in not sharing it, as charity would simply enable weaker groups of people to survive when "nature" had singled them out as unfit. By the 1930s, except for countries like Nazi Germany, Social Darwinism had lost credibility in mainstream society.
The Social Gospel was a response to the increasing emphasis on salvation and the afterlife in evangelical Christianity in the nineteenth century. In countries, such as the United States, which lacked any kind of government social safety net at the time, Social Gospel Christians insisted that Christ called on Christians to get involved in the here and now in addressing social problems. Union Theological Seminary in New York and the associated Riverside Church were strong proponents of the Social Gospel and promoted soup kitchens, settlement houses, and involvement with the poor as central to Christianity. However, they were also criticized for being more interested in progressive politics than in the faith life.
Social Darwinism and the Social Gospel are broadly opposite approaches to social problems, both of which arose in the 1870s. Only the Social Gospel, however, was a conscious movement, and most of the philosophers and scientists now regarded as Social Darwinists (such as Herbert Spencer, who coined the phrase "survival of the fittest") were not described as such until long after their deaths.
Social Darwinism is the application of Darwinian natural selection to society. This has generally been connected with a form of laissez-faire capitalism in which no one prevents the strongest and richest members of society from prospering to the greatest possible extent while the weakest and poorest are permitted to die out. It is worth noting that "Social Darwinism" is a term like "political correctness" which is almost never used by those advocating for it but is generally used as a pejorative label by opponents.
The Social Gospel can be regarded as an attempt to counteract the effects of Social Darwinism by putting social justice and the leveling of economic equality at the forefront of Christian ethics. Proponents regarded unrestrained capitalism as selfish and ungodly, arguing that it was in direct opposition to the teachings of Christ. It remains influential amongst socially progressive Christians today.
Both the Social Gospel Movement and Social Darwinism grew out of the effects of what is often referred to as the Gilded Age—the rise of industrialism and marked economic growth in the United States from roughly 1870 to 1900. During this time, economic growth coincided with (and was closely tied to) advances in technology, increased political involvement and "machine politics" (political party organizations that secured votes for particular parties or candidates by controlling elections and rewarding supporters), wealth inequality, and increased immigration to the US.
The industrialization and economic expansion of the Gilded Age accelerated wealth inequality in the US as entrepreneurs and businessmen like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller (so-called "robber barons") grew incredibly wealthy while many workers struggled to make ends meet, living in crowded city tenements and slums. In order to justify their success at the expense of the lower classes, many wealthy capitalists adopted British philosopher Herbert Spencer's idea of "Social Darwinism." Spencer adapted Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution and applied it to human society, coining the phrase "survival of the fittest." According to Spencer and other proponents of Social Darwinism, some people were naturally stronger and more intelligent than others and were therefore ordained by God to be wealthy, whereas others were destined to live in poverty because they were naturally, intrinsically weaker and inferior.
The Social Gospel movement, on the other hand, largely grew in response to Social Darwinism and the growing inequalities of society. Supporters of the Social Gospel, many of whom were Protestants, believed that greed and corruption caused many of the ills and inequalities of society and industrialization. Thus, rather than seeing poverty and inequality as natural and inevitable, proponents of the Social Gospel felt that it was society's job to care for and correct societal problems like poverty. Social Gospel preaching, combined with the work of people like Jacob Riis, whose photo essay "How the Other Half Lives" provided honest and often shocking glimpses into the horrors of industrialization and poverty, increased social awareness, and helped spawn reform movements during the Progressive Era in the early 1900s.
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/twenty/tkeyinfo/socgospel.htm
https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Social_Darwinism
https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Social_Gospel_Movement
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