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Abstract

From 1911-1917 a Socialist magazine called The Masses published art, essays, and poetry that aimed to support and foment class struggle in the United States. While their work was not primarily religious, from time to time authors chose to depict Jesus as an agent of class struggle. This paper focuses on these occasions, discussing how images of Jesus as union member and “workingman” are used to promote the magazine’s aims. Finally, this paper uses The Masses’ depictions of Jesus as a touchstone for analyzing some current debates within historical Jesus scholarship and argues for The Masses’ Jesus to be taken seriously within that discipline.

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