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Charles Sheldon (February 26, 1857 Wellsville, New York - February 24, 1946) was an American minister in the Congregational churches and leader of the Social Gospel movement.

Sheldon is a graduate of Phillips Academy, Andover (Class of 1879). He became an advocate of the late nineteenth century school of thought known as Christian Socialism. His theological outlook focused on the practicalities of the moral life, with much less emphasis on the doctrinal traditions of personal redemption from sin in Christ. In the 1880s Sheldon developed a series of sermons that he preached from the pulpit of the Congregational church in Topeka, Kansas. The unifying theme of these sermons was based on posing the question, "what would Jesus do?" when facing moral decisions.

The theme of the sermons was later fictionalised into the novel In His Steps. The central ethos of the novel was not about personal redemption but about moral choices related to encountering circumstances of poverty and deprivation. Sheldon's theological motif reflected his socialist outlook, and it helped to inspire the theologian Walter Rauschenbusch who is generally credited with creating the Social Gospel. However, Rauschenbusch acknowledged that Sheldon was the source of his ideas. Sheldon's own parish work became identified with the Social Gospel, an expression of early Liberal Christianity.

In 1900 he became editor of the Topeka Daily Capital applying the concept. In less than a year its circulation exploded from 12,000 to 387,000 overwhelming the paper's Topeka printing plant causing it to print 120,000 copies each in Chicago, Illinois and New York City.^[1]

In the 1990's WWJD bracelets became a popular item among young people and publishers increased sales of the public domain book In His Steps and tied it in with marketing of "What would Jesus do?" items.

One theologian, James Smylie, has analyzed the impact of Sheldon's novel and argues that it offers a poor calculus for mature ethical and moral decision making on the part of Christians.

Sheldon's Christian Socialist ideology was reflected in his belief in full equality for men and women and vocally supported the feminist struggle for equal rights. He urged women to become involved in politics, believing that there they would make a difference for the better. He also supported that women should have full equality in the workplace and saw nothing wrong with men working in traditionally feminine jobs, such as domestic service.

• Profile on Sheldon from the Congregational Church, Topeka, Kansas[1]
• Works by Charles Sheldon at Project Gutenberg
• Kansas State Historical Society archived documents on Charles Sheldon [2]
• Charles Sheldon at Find A Grave

• James Smylie, "Sheldon's In His Steps: Conscience and Discipleship," Theology Today, Volume 32, number 1 (July 1975) pp. 32-45.