Christianity and the Industrial Revolution
Religion & Life Assessment 2017
Issue in History
The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th century in Britain, and spread all throughout Europe. It refers to a period of massive economic, technological, social and cultural change. The best known changes were the invention of machines to do the work of hand tools, the use of steam, other kinds of power, and the adoption of the factory system. The invention of the spinning jenny triggered a flood of new and faster processes in both manufacture and transportation, eventually becoming known as the Industrial Revolution.
Before the Revolution, manufacturing was often done in people’s homes, using hand tools or basic machines. The Industrial Revolution reduced the time and labour that was involved in creating the things that people needed every day, and resulted in dramatically lower prices for goods and services. Factories began to pop up everywhere, creating tremendous job growth. People became more motivated and educated than ever, spurring a large amount of useful inventions. Health care, education, appearance, and nutrition all began to get much more attention than previously.
There was much more money to be made in the cities than in the rural farming areas. This caused many people to move to the industrial centres which then became over-populated. Workers suffered from long working hours, low wages, and unsafe working conditions, with no rights to vote or form trade unions. Society became divided into rich and poor. Women and child labour was badly exploited. Hungry families stole until the risks were too high, so children and mothers became prostitutes. Before industrialisation, there were no major sources of pollution. Other problems included poor living conditions and abandoned farms.
Why Church Responded
Social problems and the deprivation of human dignity thrived at this time, becoming the reason the church stepped in. People were working on the Sabbath, which was declared for the purpose of bonding and rest. A time of the family being together, and when virtue could be taught. Because the family unit was broken in much of the population, virtue was not effectively taught, and hence society was far from good. The mission of the Church was to share the good news of Jesus’ saving grace and bring about the kingdom of God. Another way to describe this kingdom would be a virtuous society where the two great commandments (love God, love people) were practised. Family is therefore the fundamental unit of society because it effectively teaches the virtue to make this possible. But this was not happening during the Industrial Revolution.
Capitalism was a growing view amongst the population at the time, which exploited workers and kept them in relative poverty. It led to a society where happiness is based upon materialism and consumerism. People began stirring up revolution and hatred toward the wealthier in society with an interest in redistributing their personal property. Socialism convinced people that land should be shared by the community. It therefore worked against the virtue of justice, the right to private property and the free use of what one has earned. Technology placed science as the centre of the New World. Science was able to harness energy and create new technologies. Science provided hope to society and offered the freedom from physical restraints. Environmental resources seemed inexhaustible and nature was viewed as something to be tamed and civilised, which went against the belief that all people are carers of the earth.
Philosophers Karl Marx (and Friedrich Engels) began to form another competing world view – Marxism. Marx believed that religion was the response to earthly suffering and, “the opium of the people,” that gave working classes false hope. He wrote that, “Man makes religion, religion does not make man.” He questioned the truth of any religion that assumed the existence of a higher power that was not subject to natural law, yet responded to its followers. Marx saw religion as harmful – preventing people from seeing the class structure/oppression around them, and preventing revolution. In Marxism, religion is to society as opium is to the sick – a means of reducing immediate suffering with pleasant illusions, so they had the strength to carry on. This totally undermined religion as a whole, and caused the Catholic church to lose followers.
How Church Responded
In 1891, the Pope Leo XIII wrote and delivered an encyclical to Bishops, particularly directed at Europe and Britain, addressing the balance between labour and capital, the religious definition of common good and the role of the state. This document was titled Rerum Novarum, meaning “of revolutionary change.” It laid out the rights and responsibilities of capital and labour, described the role of Government in a just society, condemned atheistic communism, and defended the right to private property.
The construct of Catholic Social teaching was developed due to the issues resulting from the poor management of the industrialised society. The common good included the right to private ownership, balanced against the idea that good is shared by all, and the highest good a society can have is virtue – where the rights and needs of others must be always respected. The universal destination of goods stated that creation is ultimately God’s and, therefore, belongs to all God’s creatures. Solidarity stated that human community consists of individual and social elements. Stewardship is the belief that humans share the world with other beings of God’s creation and have a special duty to be stewards and carers of the Earth. Participation and subsidiarity means that individuals and groups must be enabled to participate in society, make decisions and accomplish what they can by their own initiative and industry.
The idea that all people have equal dignity at all times was weaved throughout the encyclical. Therefore, all people should have equal citizenship and be able to vote. There was the perception that the poor had no rights, and they were a burden upon society. The rich judged the poor as inferior. The Industrialists had greater power and therefore judged the poor as less than equal. Preferential option for the poor was the teaching that the poor and the powerless have a special call on our charity. The poor were to act peacefully, and the government was to satisfy their needs. “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” Matthew 7.
Whilst Rerum Novarum was read from wildly different perspectives, receiving different responses, it had a lasting impact on the church and the world. It was the beginning of the church taking a less defensive stance toward modern political thought and the reality of capitalist economies. It also legitimated trade unions – they could no longer be dismissed as revolutionary/socialist. The letter encouraged working-class Catholics to join independent trade unions and to work with secular organisations on social reform. The labour movement had its reputation softened. It also supported the newer social conscience of Catholics and offered moral and social teachings to guide social activism. These teachings would later be developed/adapted by succeeding generations of religious leaders. Pope Leo XIII was the first pope to articulate a genuine recognition of the suffering of the poor and working classes. Under his leadership, the papacy broke away from its allegiance to aristocracy. The letter provided a doctrinal challenge to the indifference of middle-class and affluent Catholics. England, the epicentre for the Industrial Revolution, saw rises in concentrations of Catholics, as Irish Catholics moved into Britain in search of higher paying work. This higher concentration meant that the Pope had a greater influence on the attitudes present in the Industrial Revolution.
Rerum Novarum made clear that workers were to respect their employer and do what was good by them. Employers were to respect workers, pay a just wage and let them attend religious and family obligations. The Industrial Revolution caused many social problems as well as great technological progress. The Church believes that all people are called to love and reflect God's goodness. The Church will always be found available to help society. Therefore, Bishops must promote true charity, through the Gospel, the "surest antidote against worldly pride and immoderate love of self."