Niebuhr, Reinhold

Niebuhr, Reinhold
(1892-1971)
   This influential theologian was born Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr in Wright City, Wisconsin. Raised in a religious family, Niebuhr graduated from the German Evangelical Synod’s Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis in 1913 and gained an M.A. from Yale Divinity School in 1915. From 1915 to 1928, he was pastor at the Bethel Evangelical Church in Detroit, where his powerful sermons helped swell the congregation from 65 to 600 members. During World War I, he supported the dropping of “German” from the Synod’s title and abandoning the use of the German language. After the war, he became a pacifist and, as a result of his knowledge of Detroit’s car factories, increasingly socialist. From 1928 until his retirement in 1960, Niebuhr was professor at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. In 1929, he became editor of the socialist World Tomorrow, and he stood as a socialist candidate for election to the New York state senate in 1930 and to Congress in 1932. He was unsuccessful on both occasions.
   Niebuhr authored a number of influential books, including Moral Man and Immoral Society (1932), An Interpretation of Christian Ethics (1935), Beyond Tragedy (1937), The Nature and Destiny of Man (two volumes, 1941, 1943), The Children of Darkness (1944), and The Irony of American History (1952). He was chair of the Union for Democratic Action, a left-wing but anticommunist group, and he also campaigned in support of aid to Great Britain prior to 1941. After the war, he was a founding member of Americans for Democratic Action and a critic of Joseph McCarthy. In 1949, he was an official U.S. delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization General Conference in Paris. He continued to lecture widely, and in 1964 he was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson. Nonetheless Niebuhr was a critic of U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. His message of Christian realism and opposition to injustice was an inspiration for civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and made him a major influence in postwar America.

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  • NIEBUHR, REINHOLD° — (1892–1971), U.S. Protestant theologian who spent most of his teaching career at New York s Union Theological Seminary. Niebuhr brought to this position a social conscience formed during a pastorate in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1920s. Active in… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Niebuhr,Reinhold — Niebuhr, Reinhold. 1892 1971. American theologian who argued that Christianity is obligated to confront ethical, social, and moral problems. His works include The Nature and Destiny of Man (1941 1943). * * * …   Universalium

  • Niebuhr, Reinhold — born June 21, 1892, Wright City, Mo., U.S. died June 1, 1971, Stockbridge, Mass. U.S. theologian. The son of an evangelical minister, he studied at Eden Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School. He was ordained in the Evangelical Synod of… …   Universalium

  • Niebuhr, Reinhold — (1892 1971)    influential theologian and ethicist    Reinhold Niebuhr was born on June 21, 1892, in Wright City, Missouri. His father was a minister in the German Evangelical Synod and his mother the daughter of an Evangelical missionary.… …   Encyclopedia of Protestantism

  • Niebuhr, Reinhold — (1893–1971)    Theologian.    Niebuhr was born in Missouri. He was the elder brother of Richard Niebuhr, another important theologian. From 1928 until 1960 he taught at the Union Theological Seminary, New York. Influenced by both barth and… …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Niebuhr, Reinhold — (21 jun. 1892, Wright City, Mo., EE.UU.–1 jun. 1971, Stockbridge, Mass.). Teólogo estadounidense. Hijo de un ministro evangélico, estudió en Eden Theological Seminary y Yale Divinity School. Fue ordenado en el sínodo evangélico de Norteamérica en …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • NIEBUHR, Reinhold — (1893 197l)    American theologian and brother of Richard NIEBUHR. He was professor at Union Theological Seminary. Active in the creation of the NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, the New York Liberal Party, and Americans for Democratic Action. He… …   Concise dictionary of Religion

  • Reinhold Niebuhr — Born Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr June 21, 1892(1892 06 21) Wright City, Missouri Died June 1, 1971 …   Wikipedia

  • Reinhold — is a surname and given name, and may refer to:As a surname: *Erasmus Reinhold, 16th century German astronomer; The lunar crater Reinhold is named after him. *Hugo Reinhold (1854 1935), Austrian composer and pianist *Judge Reinhold, American actor …   Wikipedia

  • Reinhold Niebuhr — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Niebuhr. Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (21 juin 1892 1er juin 1971) était un théologien américain protestant. Il est célèbre pour ses études sur les relations entre la foi chrétienne et la… …   Wikipédia en Français

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