Charles Fletcher Dole, Liberal Theology, and Reform

This book offers a historical look at the life and theology of Charles Fletcher Dole.

Dole was born into what he described as an “ultra-orthodox” religious family. He was unable to accept the severe, quasi-Calvinist theology of his relatives, and when he attended Harvard College, he was influenced by the intellectual currents set in motion by Darwinism. He then moved towards the radical wing of Unitarian theology.

It was incumbent on the faithful—of any religious tradition—to live in ways that helped further the divine plan. This moral imperative prompted Dole, as the long-term minister in the Unitarian Church, to advocate for reforms not unlike those of his parents and other relatives, including temperance, women’s suffrage, improved race relations, anti-imperialism, and pacifism.

This historical recovery and interpretation of Dole argues that while Dole’s radical theology was the source of his civic engagement, his iteration of the social gospel was to some extent also shaped and delimited by the socio-economic position he occupied.