Charles Monroe Sheldon (February 26, 1857 – February 24, 1946) was an American Congregationalist minister and a leader of the

Social Gospel The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean envir ...

movement. His novel ''

In His Steps ''In His Steps'' is a best-selling religious fiction novel written by Charles Monroe Sheldon. First published in 1896, the book has sold more than 50,000,000 copies, and ranks as one of the best-selling books of all time. The full title of th ...

'' introduced the principle "

What would Jesus do? The phrase "What would Jesus do?", often abbreviated to WWJD, became popular particularly in the United States in the early 1900s after the widely read book by Charles Sheldon entitled, '' In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do''. The phrase had a r ...

", which articulated an approach to

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exeg ...

that became popular at the turn of the 20th century and enjoyed a revival almost one hundred years later. The stretch of US-24 on the north side of

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

, between US-75 and K-4 is named the "Charles Sheldon Trafficway" in his honor.

Education and ministry

Charles Sheldon was born in

Wellsville, New York Wellsville is a Town and largest community in Allegany County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 7,099. Wellsville is centrally located in the south half of the county, north of the Pennsylvania border ...

. He was a graduate of

Phillips Academy, Andover ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

(class of 1879), and of

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1883. He pastored a church at

Waterbury, Vermont Waterbury is a town in Washington County in central Vermont, United States. Although the town is still home to the Waterbury Village Historic District, the village sharing the name of the town officially dissolved as a municipality in 2018. As ...

, from 1886 to 1888, and in 1889 became pastor of the Central Congregational Church in

. Sheldon became an advocate of the late-nineteenth-century school of thought known as

Christian Socialism Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe capi ...

. His

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

outlook focused on the practicalities of the moral life, de-emphasizing the doctrinal traditions of personal redemption from sin in

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

. In the winter of 1896 Sheldon developed a

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...

story that he read as a weekly series from the pulpit of Central Congregational Church. The unifying theme of these sermons was based on asking oneself the question "

What would Jesus do The phrase "What would Jesus do?", often abbreviated to WWJD, became popular particularly in the United States in the early 1900s after the widely read book by Charles Sheldon entitled, '' In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do''. The phrase had a r ...

?" when facing moral decisions. He viewed this question as central to Christianity, and likely drew some inspiration from William T. Stead's ''If Christ came to Chicago!'' (1893) and other earlier sources.

Novel and theological influence

The theme of the sermons was later fictionalized into the novel ''

''. The central ethos of the novel was not about personal redemption but about moral choices related to encountering circumstances of poverty and deprivation. Sheldon's theological motif reflected his socialist outlook. Sheldon's own parish work became identified with the Social Gospel.

Walter Rauschenbusch Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–1918) was an American theologian and Baptist pastor who taught at the Rochester Theological Seminary. Rauschenbusch was a key figure in the Social Gospel and Georgist, single tax movements that flourished in the United ...

, widely viewed as the chief architect of the

, acknowledged the importance Sheldon placed on imitating Jesus. He saw the significance of Sheldon's work in bringing home the realization that it is hard to live a Christ-like life, given the temptations of modern society. While Rauschenbusch found this awareness valuable, he saw that it did not demand what he believed was a necessary transformation of social institutions. Sheldon was in touch with the concerns of middle-class America at the end of the century. He saw his role as one of communication—to introduce his congregation and the wider public to the ideas of

Lyman Abbott Lyman J. Abbott (December 18, 1835 – October 22, 1922) was an American Congregationalist theologian, editor, and author. Biography Early years Lyman J. Abbott was born at Roxbury, Massachusetts on December 18, 1835, the son of the prolific ...

, Richard Ely, George Herron, and Rauschenbusch. That was his intention in writing ''In His Steps.'' Of the social issues Sheldon espoused during his lifetime, the two he was most passionate about were

equality Equality may refer to: Society * Political equality, in which all members of a society are of equal standing ** Consociationalism, in which an ethnically, religiously, or linguistically divided state functions by cooperation of each group's elit ...

and

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

. He believed that all persons were equal and should be treated as such. He was a pioneer among Protestant ministers in welcoming blacks into a mainstream church. He was also committed to fair treatment for Jews and Catholics, and proclaimed the equality of men and women. A strong supporter of the

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

struggle for equal rights, he urged women to enter politics. He also pushed for full equality in the workplace. Sheldon was also a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

who promoted compassion towards animals just as he did towards humans.Sheldon, "The Confessions of a Vegetarian," Independent 60 (June 21, 1906): 1458 He even criticized circuses for their treatment of animals.Sheldon, "The Show That Would have Stunned New York," unpublished sermon, Sheldon’s manuscript file, Kansas Historical Society.

Newspaper "career"

In March 1900 Sheldon became editor for a week of ''

The Topeka Daily Capital ''The Topeka Capital-Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Topeka, Kansas, owned by Gannett. History The paper was formed following numerous name changes and mergers, including the merger of ''The Topeka Daily Capital'' and ''The Topeka State Jour ...

'', applying the "What would Jesus do?" concept. In that short time, the newspaper's circulation exploded from just under 12,000 to 387,000, overwhelming the paper's Topeka printing plant and forcing it to outsource the printing of 120,000 copies each to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. After his retirement from Central Congregational Church in 1920, Sheldon edited the ''Christian Herald, An Illustrated News Weekly for the Home'', a religious periodical, from 1920 to 1924, and continued to write articles after his final retirement in 1924.

Renewed interest a century later

In the 1990s, around the centennial of the original publication of Sheldon's novel ''

'', WWJD bracelets became a popular item, especially among young people, and publishers increased sales of the book (which is in the public domain), tying it in with marketing of "What would Jesus do?" items. A ten-part miniseries produced in 2008Jones, Victoria Emily
"WWJD, Part 1: Origin of the Phrase"
''The Jesus Question'', January 6, 2012. Retrieved 2022-11-23. by Topeka PBS affiliate

KTWU KTWU (channel 11) is a PBS member television station in Topeka, Kansas, United States, owned by Washburn University. The station's studios are located on the western edge of the Washburn University campus at 19th Street and Jewell Avenue (with a ...

features an hour-long segment "Beyond Theology: What Would Jesus Do?" which examines how this question might be considered in the context of the political, social, and cultural changes that have taken place in America. The program also looks at the manner in which Sheldon applied the Social Gospel in his own life and in his community.

List of works

* 1892: ''Richard Bruce; or, the Life That Now Is'' * 1893: ''Robert Hardy's Seven Days: A Dream and Its Consequences'' * 1893: ''The Twentieth Door'' * 1894: ''The Crucifixion of Phillip Strong'' * 1895: ''His Brother's Keeper; or, Christian Stewardship'' * 1897: ''

: "What Would Jesus Do?"'' * 1898: ''The Redemption of Freetown'' * 1898: ''Malcom Kirk: A Tale Of Moral Heroism In Overcoming The World'' * 1898: ''One of the Two: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good"'' * 1899: ''John King's Question Class'' * 1899: ''The Miracle at Markham: How Twelve Churches Became One'' * 1899: ''Lend a Hand'' * 1899: ''For Christ and the Church'' * 1900: ''Born to Serve: A story'' * 1900: ''Edward Blake: College Student'' * 1901: ''The Reformer'' * 1903: ''His Mother's Prayers'' * 1903: ''The Narrow Gate'' * 1905: ''The Heart of the World: A Story of Christian Socialism'' * 1906: ''The spirit's power: Or the revival'' * 1909: ''Paul Douglas–Journalist'' * 1911: ''The High Calling'' * 1912: ''A Builder of Ships: The Story of Brander Cushing's Ambition'' * 1914: ''"Jesus is Here!" Continuing the Narrative of "In His Steps (What Would Jesus Do?)"'' (sequel) * 1912: ''In His Steps: A Dramatic Adaptation of the Story'' (with Frank H. Lane) * 1916: ''Howard Chase, Red Hill, Kansas'' * 1916: ''Of One Blood'' * 1917: ''Modern Pagans'' * 1919: ''All The World'' * 1920: ''Heart Stories'' * 1921: ''In His Steps To-day. What would Jesus do in solving the problems of present political, economic and social life?'' * 1921: ''The Richest Man in Kansas'' * 1924: ''The everyday Bible'' (as

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

) * 1924: ''The Mere Man and His Problems'' * 1925: ''Charles M. Sheldon: His Life Story'' (autobiography) * 1925: ''Two Old Friends'' * 1926: ''The Life of Jesus'' * 1927: ''Casework Evangelism: Studies in the Art of Christian Personal Work'' (Introduction only) * 1928: ''The 13th Resolution'' * 1929: ''Life's Treasure Book: Past, Present, and Future'' * 1941: ''The Golden Book of Bible Stories: Favorite Stories from the Old and New Testaments Retold for Children''

References

External links

* * * * Kansas State Historical Society archived documents on Charles Sheldo

* * PBS Documentary "Beyond Theology: What Would Jesus Do? http://ktwu.washburn.edu/productions/WWJD-BT/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Charles 1857 births 1946 deaths American Christian socialists American Congregationalist ministers American evangelicals Christian writers Congregationalist socialists People from Wellsville, New York Phillips Academy alumni Writers from New York (state) Writers from Topeka, Kansas