AHC: Create a viable Christian Communist movement in the US

A sort of mix of Capital C and little c. Perhaps say a preacher reads the Manisfesto, and while he doesn't like the attacks on religion, he does make the connection that some of the Marxist idea's are in-line with those espoused by the Gospel, and then goes from there spreading this idea of "Christian Communism" to the masses.

Or something along those sorts of lines, though that was just off the top of my head. Really whatever scenario you can come up with that works will do the trick.

Isn't this what I exactly proposed? :confused:
 
Back on Soc.History.What-If a few years back, we had a similar conversation. The idea was for the son of a New England Minister to survive the Civil War and come into contact with Marxism. For the same of argument, we called him John Matthews.

Matthews rejects the overt anti-religious overtones of Marxism, but latches on to the "Revolution of the Proletariat" aspects, merging them with Apocalyptic post-Millennial ideas then in vogue in New England and creating a Protestant Christian Socialist movement. He heads out and preaches across the land, becoming big in the lecture circuit in the Middle West, right before the rise of the Populists. Matthewism is born.
 
Back on Soc.History.What-If a few years back, we had a similar conversation. The idea was for the son of a New England Minister to survive the Civil War and come into contact with Marxism. For the same of argument, we called him John Matthews.

Matthews rejects the overt anti-religious overtones of Marxism, but latches on to the "Revolution of the Proletariat" aspects, merging them with Apocalyptic post-Millennial ideas then in vogue in New England and creating a Protestant Christian Socialist movement. He heads out and preaches across the land, becoming big in the lecture circuit in the Middle West, right before the rise of the Populists. Matthewism is born.

That would be nice. But wouldn't it be great for him to be an African American too and starting an influential civil rights movement at this time, even not to the extent of OTL 60's but enough for it to start earlier maybe by the 1920's, when there is already a uniquely American communist movement largely influential to the horror of Moscow, supposedly if the Russian Revolution still happen?
 
That would be nice. But wouldn't it be great for him to be an African American too and starting an influential civil rights movement at this time, even not to the extent of OTL 60's but enough for it to start earlier maybe by the 1920's, when there is already a uniquely American communist movement largely influential to the horror of Moscow, supposedly if the Russian Revolution still happen?

I see no reason that *Matthewsiam couldn't spread to the African American community and become very prominent there; but due to the racial realities of the era and the religious environment of the time, I would still think a New Englander is the best way to go to get the movement to spread.

Although if religion is so closely aligned with Civil Rights, I wonder if this will effect the spread of Protestantism through the South in the Post-Civil War era South.
 
The difficulty here is that Protestant denominations have an inherent individualism to their faith. Luther emphasized having a personal relationship with God. And there is a strain of morality associated with one's individual work. God helps them who help themselves and all that. This doesnt exactly play well with communism.

The Catholic Church, on the other hand, could easily become a part of such movement. But, the Catholic Church has never been powerful enough or united enough in the US to create a movement with any potency. Hell, JFK had to answer for his beliefs in 1960. So, unless of you have a POD of around 1700 with settlers and immigration as the catalyst for something different, I dont think you get this.
 
The difficulty here is that Protestant denominations have an inherent individualism to their faith. Luther emphasized having a personal relationship with God. And there is a strain of morality associated with one's individual work. God helps them who help themselves and all that. This doesnt exactly play well with communism.

Err... the leaders of the Canadian CCF party, include JSWoodworth and Tommy Douglas, both protestant ministers.

While clearly the ccf is socialist, not communist, a blanket statement about protestantism being hostile to social/communal action is clearly false. The early Christian church, that protestants often claim to be trying to recreate, was clearly closer to communism than right wing protestants want to admit.

In the first half of the 20th century, there was a VERY strong social gospel left wing protestant movement.
 
Err... the leaders of the Canadian CCF party, include JSWoodworth and Tommy Douglas, both protestant ministers.

While clearly the ccf is socialist, not communist, a blanket statement about protestantism being hostile to social/communal action is clearly false. The early Christian church, that protestants often claim to be trying to recreate, was clearly closer to communism than right wing protestants want to admit.

In the first half of the 20th century, there was a VERY strong social gospel left wing protestant movement.

Exactly. The First Red Scare managed to destroy this movement along with the successful maneuvering of institutions like the American Federation of Labor and the National Civic Federation.

If we can get this right; we can have a United States of America with very strong European style Christian democratic movement at the very least, most likely concentrated in the South with its Americanized twists of states' rights.
And then a viable Christian communist movement as part of it.

Going back to my proposal; I am seeing a timeline like this:

1901-1905 President McKinley remains President. Thanks to the influence of VP Roosevelt, He was able to handle the Anthracite Coal Strike fairly well but his Supreme Court appointments were enough for the Northern Securities Company to remain. Meanwhile, the Socialist Party of America was formed along with the Industrial Workers' of the World.

1905-1909 Theodore Roosevelt failed to win the Republican nomination while the eventual nominee; Charles Fairbanks win the presidency over Alton Parker. His anti-union agenda with the empowered business trusts culminated with the American Labor Wars, strengthening the SPA and the IWW. Fairbanks shall try again to get the presidency with him narrowly won the nomination. This is enough to weaken the Republican campaign and a close victory of Fairbanks for his second term with Roosevelt as VP while Progressive majorities were present in Congress. Meanwhile, the SPA and the IWW strengthened themselves enough that the SLPA joined the party in 1910 while the weakened AFL and the IWW merged into the International Farmer-Labor Federation.

1909-1913 Fairbanks moved to the center and approved greater government regulation of monopolies. The Progressive Era began.

Meanwhile, a certain African American minister was formulating his ideas as well as another white New Englander minister and an economist.

1913-1920 The SPA entered the national political scene but deeply divided between reforms vs revolution. Theodore Roosevelt won the presidency in 1912 against William Jennings Bryan in the height of Progressivism as opposed to the 1904 Conservative Consensus. The Third Bank of the United States was established under hybrid private-public control. Women's suffrage was passed. And the Anglophile Roosevelt entered a military alliance with Britain. World War I happened and America entered the war in 1915. Attacks against organized labor. The ministers entered into action; committed to pacifism, civil rights, their brand of Christian communism and non-violent resistance; drawing Americans from various walks of life. Their movement grew within the larger American labor movement. President Roosevelt won another term in 1916 against an anti-war Bourbon Democrat winning some Southern states but the Democratic Party is divided between pro-war coalitionist and anti-war factions. The movement of the ministers grew more when Southerners reacted badly to the civil righters and the mayor of New York City refused to give his seat to the Socialist winner in the mayoral election. America entered the League of Nations. By 1920; the first Democrat since Grover Cleveland returned to the White House.

1920-1930 Prosperity of the 1920s. The SPA was divided on the issue of joining the Comintern. A small wing left the SPA to form the Communist Party of America. The economist formulated his policies of market socialism. He met with another economist from Britain though they disagreed on many issues but they influenced each other, the former more than the latter. Despite the US joining the League, having a Democrat in the White House made the country quite isolationist in international issues. The Socialists starting to make a strategy of challenging Democratic candidates in primaries. Civil rights movement approved by the Democratic president in the 1920s allowing Herbert Hoover to win a close election of 1928 by capturing some Southern states. By 1930, the Wall Street Crash happened.

1932-1948 The United States elected the Democratic-Socialist ticket of Norman Thomas; a Christian democratic socialist, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Compromise of 1932 commenced, thanks in part to the large influence of religious Americans, including the Christian "communist" vote. A new "American System" was instituted under the slogan of "New Society".
 
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