Which reform movement applied Protestant ethics to address social problems in the United States?

• A. Progressive Movement
• B. Social Gospel
• C. Muckraking
• D. Gilded Age Reform

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is how religious beliefs can shape efforts to fix social problems. The Social Gospel movement is exactly about taking Protestant ethics—the moral duty to help the vulnerable—and turning them into concrete reforms to improve urban life. It urged Christians to address poverty, housing, education, healthcare, and workers’ rights because these conditions reflected a failing society, not just individual failings. Think of ministers and reformers advocating for better housing, temperance, and social services, often working through churches and settlement houses like Hull House, to put faith into action.

This is why it fits best: it specifically ties religious ethics to social reform in a public, organized way. In contrast, the broader Progressive Movement covers many reform goals (not necessarily rooted in Protestant faith), muckraking focuses on investigative journalism of corruption, and Gilded Age Reform refers to earlier reform efforts without the explicit religious-ethics framework.