The temperance movement was limited to a fairly small percentage of Christians and only began in the 19th century. > Throughout the first 1,800 years of Church

The temperance movement was limited to a fairly small percentage of Christians and only began in the 19th century. > Throughout the first 1,800 years of Church history, Christians generally consumed alcoholic beverages as a common part of everyday life and used "the fruit of the vine" in their central rite—the Eucharist or Lord's Supper. They held that both the Bible and Christian tradition taught that alcohol is a gift from God that makes life more joyous, but that over-indulgence leading to drunkenness is sinful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_alcohol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_alcohol