The Civic Gospel
Dale's integrity, intelligence, moral passion and oratory soon made him a national figure in an age when the strength of non-conformity was at its highest. He welcomed social improvement and was an advocate, with George Dawson of what became known in Birmingham as the Civic Gospel. The health, housing, sanitation and living conditions in Birmingham had suffered from its rapid population expansion in the previous thirty years. Dale argued 'the public duty of the state is the private duty of every citizen': service on the town council to improve the wellbeing of Birmingham was advocated by Dale as having moral and religious worth. He was an advocate of free public education, social improvement, the extension of the franchise, the recognition of trades unions, and understanding the links between poverty and crime.
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