Christian socialism and education: an analysis of Christian socialist thought with particular reference to education as represented in their journals Politics for the people, The Christian socialist and The Journal of association, 1848-1852

Master of EducationThis thesis examines the theological, social and economic theories of Christian Socialism as expressed in the journals Politics for the People, The Christian Socialist, and The Journal of Association. Particular attention is paid to the type of education for which these theories formed the basis. To set the more detailed study in perspective, the thesis suggests some reasons for the appearance of Christian Socialism in mid nineteenth century England, and gives a brief history of the personalities and programmes in the movement. In his theology of hope, Frederick Denison Maurice, the acknowledged leader of the Christian Socialists, produced an idea which was fundamentally optimistic: the existence of a loving caring God gave man the courage to believe that he was not condemned to a mean and meaningless existence. The relationship of all men to God the Father was the basis of their views on economic reorganization which can only be described as socialist in a very loose sense of that word. The Christian Socialists brought to the questions of economic misery, crime and education a specific theological perspective. The idea that the actions of an individual may be attributable in part to his upbringing, his identification with a social class and its expectations, and the lack of hope which characterized so many of the English 'working-class of the time was not new to radicals such as Robert Owen but it was not an accepted attitude of the establishment whether legal or clerical. Nor was Maurice's theology generally accepted, even in the Church of England, of which he was a prominent member. The Christian Socialists advocated political and social reform. For enduring and basic improvement however, they looked to the improvement of the individual citizen through the development of his inherent physical, intellectual and spiritual qualities. Such an education they believed would create a society based on the principles of mutual respect and love, and as a consequence of that change, the contemporary society based upon destructive competition would be replaced by one based on constructive cooperative production. Their expectations of education, however praiseworthy, were largely unrealistic