What is the Social Creed?
The United Methodist Book of Discipline contains a social creed at the end of the section on the Social Principles. The Social Creed draws from the Church’s Christian beliefs and Wesleyan practices to express its solidarity with the working class and commitment to fair and just labor practices. It is a historic and sacred testament to our social witness as a denomination. The UMC encourages congregations to incorporate it into their worship occasionally to remind congregants of the denomination’s commitment to justice and equality for all people.
When was it written?
The Social Creed was first drafted by the Methodist Episcopal Church (a predecessor to The UMC) in 1908. This was during the height of the American Labor Movement. All around the country men, women and even children worked in factories, warehouses and mines under brutal conditions. The hours were long, the wages were low and benefits practically non-existent There were few federal safety standards in place to protect against workplace accidents. Workers organized themselves into unions to demand better treatment, while activists and religious leaders began advocating for rights of workers.
The Social Creed was drafted by the newly-formed Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) ahead of 1908 MEC General Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. The Creed called for an end to child labor, a fair and living wage for all workers, collective bargaining rights for employees and workplace safety practices among other things.
The Creed as adopted by the 1908 conference was as follows:
The Methodist Episcopal Church states:
For equal rights and complete justice for all men in all stations of life.
For the principles of conciliation and arbitration in industrial dissensions.
For the protection of the worker from dangerous machinery, occupational diseases, injuries and mortality.
For the abolition of child labor.
For such regulation of the conditions of labor for women as shall safeguard the physical and moral health of the community.
For the suppression of the "sweating system."
For the gradual and reasonable reduction of the hours of labor to the lowest practical point, with work for all; and for that degree of leisure for all which is the condition of the highest human life.
For a release for [from] employment one day in seven.
For a living wage in every industry.
For the highest wage that each industry can afford, and for the most equitable division of the products of industry that can ultimately be devised.
For the recognition of the Golden Rule and the mind of Christ as the supreme law of society and the sure remedy for all social ills.[1]
Has the Social Creed changed since 1908?
Yes. The MEC voted to remove the Social Creed from the Discipline at the 1936 General Conference. By that point many other Wesleyan and Christian denominations had adopted their own social creeds inspired by the example of the MEC. When the MEC merged with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and the Methodist Protestant Church in 1939 to form the Methodist Church, they drafted a new social creed based on previous versions from each denomination. When the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) in 1968 to form the United Methodist Church, they again revised the Social Creed to include statements from the EUB version.
Since its adoption, the Social Creed has been revised and expanded to address other pressing societal concerns such as creation care and world peace. Here is the Social Creed as it appears in The United Methodist Book of Discipline today:
We believe in God, Creator of the world; and in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of creation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, through whom we acknowledge God’s gifts, and we repent of our sin in misusing these gifts to idolatrous ends.
We affirm the natural world as God's handiwork and dedicate ourselves to its preservation, enhancement, and faithful use by humankind.
We joyfully receive for ourselves and others the blessings of community, sexuality, marriage, and the family.
We commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children, youth, young adults, the aging, and people with disabilities; to improvement of the quality of life; and to the rights and dignity of all persons.
We believe in the right and duty of persons to work for the glory of God and the good of themselves and others and in the protection of their welfare in so doing; in the rights to property as a trust from God, collective bargaining, and responsible consumption; and in the elimination of economic and social distress.
We dedicate ourselves to peace throughout the world, to the rule of justice and law among nations, and to individual freedom for all people of the world.
We believe in the present and final triumph of God’s Word in human affairs and gladly accept our commission to manifest the life of the gospel in the world. Amen.[2]
What is the difference between the Social Creed and the Social Principles?
The Social Creed is a brief and general statement of The UMC’s commitment to social justice. In 1972 the denomination saw the need provide a more detailed document expressing its ethical aspirations with regards to specific issues and concerns which they called the Social Principles. The Social Principles are a natural expression of the values articulated in the Social Creed.
Why is does it matter?
The Social Creed provides a theological and ethical framework for United Methodist engagement in society. It reflects the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount in its concern for the poor, the meek, and the peacemakers. It envisions a society in which all persons are entitled to justice, equality and dignity as beloved children of God.
Philip J. Brooks is manager of leader content at United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
[1] Rowe, Kenneth E.; Richey, Russell E.; Schmidt, Jean Miller. The Methodist Experience in America Volume I: A History. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010.
[2] The Book of Discipline for the United Methodist Church. Nashville: United Methodist Publishing House, 2016. Used with permission.