Charles Fletcher Dole, Liberal Theology, and Reform

In this meticulously researched and well-written book, Paul Burlin chronicles the life and intellectual development of the Rev. Charles F. Dole, a leading liberal theologian and a prolific author. Burlin acknowledges that Dole’s optimistic “onward and upward” type of theology has long been out of fashion in academic circles, but he explains why that theology was popular in Dole’s time (the Progressive Era), and he argues effectively that we ought to know more about liberals such as Dole, a figure whom scholars have generally overlooked. Raised as an orthodox Calvinist in Maine, Dole ended up as a progressive Unitarian minister in Boston, and Burlin ably recounts this interesting transformation. He also uses Dole as a lens through which to view how the Protestant establishment responded to major nineteenth and early twentieth century movements such as evolutionism, pacificism, socialism, Black rights, and women’s rights. -- Clifford Putney, author of Muscular Christianity: Manhood and Sports in Protestant America, 1880-1920 Paul Burlin has written an important book about an unjustly neglected figure from an era when religious conviction and theological debates permeated public discussion of national issues. Over his long and consequential career as a civically engaged intellectual, Charles Fletcher Dole made formidable contributions to issues ranging from scriptural inerrancy and social justice to race and American imperialism. In this appreciative but balanced biography, he finally receives the recognition that is his due. -- Andrew Bacevich, Boston University Burlin has crafted a dual biography of a major religious figure that is deeply researched and engagingly written. He illuminates the trajectory of Dole’s personal life and examines his tireless social activism and prolific work as an author and lecturer. Burlin’s study represents a major contribution to late 19th and early 20th century religious and cultural history. -- Joseph Conforti, University of Southern Maine, Portland Rev. Charles Fletcher Dole early embraced evolution – but as demanding cooperation. While a shared Calvinist upbringing led to complicity by his kin in the U.S. annexation of Hawai’i, he countered with a radical Unitarian theology of good will that saw value in all religions, opposed imperialism, supported immigration, demanded education for true democracy, and embraced a Social Gospel. He was prophetic in seeing that state socialism could lead to crony capitalism and new oligarchs. He opposed both World War I and its aftermath, and inspired congregant Emily Greene Balch to found the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and win the Nobel Peace Prize. With meticulous research, nuanced interpretation, and lucid prose, Paul Burlin here gives us an over-due biography of a lost religious voice in the intellectual history of American social justice efforts. -- John A. Buehrens, Author of Conflagration: How the Transcendentalists Sparked the American Struggle for Racial, Gender, and Social Justice