William Dwight Porter Bliss (1856–1926) was an American Episcopal priest and one of the most famous and influential Christian socialists at the turn of 20th century.
Following his graduation from Hartford Theological Seminary in 1882,[5] Bliss was ordained a Congregationalist minister where he was forced to deal with, first hand, the serious labor problems that faced working-class people in America.
[4] During this same time, Bliss also become interested in the writings of people such as Charles Kingsley, Frederick Denison Maurice, Edward Bellamy, the English Christian socialist, and most notably George E. McNeill.
While all these writers were important to Bliss's foundational understanding of Christianity's role in social and economic life, it was George E. McNeill who had the greatest impact.
[7] His radical views on Christianity eventually pushed Bliss to leave Congregationalism to join the Episcopal Church on October 25, 1885.
He, like the scientific socialist, believed that in order to create a just society, where the children of God were all treated with dignity and respect, it would require a complete overhaul of the economic system.
[13][16] These scholars argue that Bliss and other Christian socialists of the day offered watered-down versions of socialism due to their practical goals, respect for unions and the insentience on gradualism.
[10] During his time with the Fellowship, Bliss along with many of the other Christian socialists moved away from their gradualist perspective and pushed for more immediate political change by writing approvingly not just of workers demanding improved conditions, but of labor strikes that became violent in order to achieve their radical ends.
[21] Although early on he frequently worked with moderate progressive reformers, as the times and circumstances changed, Bliss saw his view of Christian socialism directly in line with even the most radical socialist of the day.
[23] Bliss also served as member of the Knights of Labor, beginning in 1886, advocating more moderate reform he believed would be a necessary foundation in order to achieve his socialist vision for America.
[citation needed] Shortly after his political campaign for lieutenant Governor, Bliss founded the Society of Christian Socialists (SCS) in 1889.
As the Fellowship convention, Bliss was elected to the Committee on Constitution, and his entire speech was included in the Christian Socialist Report of the conference.