It's an interesting question, Stephen. And you're right, it IS difficult to figure out how to title the thread and how to phrase the question. In the first half of the 20th century, a kind of "folkie christology" developed, perhaps in answer to the Fundamentalist christology that developed at the same time. I suppose it was most evident in songs, but it was a view of Christ and God that was evident in many aspects of progressive movements. I think the christ of Woody Guthrie was also the Christ of the civil rights movement and of the United Farm Workers, and of the Christians who campaigned for peace in the 1960's.
I hadn't thought to explore the sources of this christology, but it's certainly an interesting question. This view of Christ has had a strong effect on my own theology since I was a Catholic seminary student in the 1960's.
-Joe Offer-