Shailer Mathews

Shailer Mathews (1863-1941) was a liberal Christian theologian, involved with the Social Gospel movement. Mathews was progressive in his day, advocating social concerns as part of the Gospel message, and subjecting Biblical texts to scientific study, in opposition to contemporary conservative Christians. He incorporated evolutionary theory into his religious views, stating that the two were not mutually exclusive.^[1] He remained a devout Baptist for his entire life, and helped establish the Northern Baptist Convention, serving as its president in 1915. A prolific author, Mathews also served as dean of the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. An endowed chair in his honor, the Shailer Mathews Professorship of Religious Ethics, is currently held by Franklin I. Gamwell.