Reinhold Niebuhr :: essays research papers

Niebuhr, Reinhold (1892-1971), American Protestant theologian, whose social doctrines profoundly influenced American theological and political thought.Born in Wright City, Missouri, June 21, 1892, he was educated at Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, Illinois promised land Theological Seminary, Webster Groves, Missouri and Yale Divinity School. In 1915 he was ordained in the ministry of the Evangelical Synod of North America and make pastor of the Bethel Evangelical church of Detroit. He held that post until 1928, at which snip he joined the force of the Union Theological Seminary, cutting York City, where he taught for 30 years. At the time of his retirement (1960) he held a chair of ethics and theology he also served as dean (1950-55) and vice president (1955-60). After retiring(a) he continued at Union as a lecturer.An outstanding, although not a systematic, theologian, Niebuhr was notable primarily for his examination of the interrelationships between religion, individuals, and m odern society. outside(a) the field of theology, he took a keen interest in condescension union and political affairs. He was an active member of the Socialist political party in the 1930s, waged a vigorous fight against isolationism and pacifism before and during human War II, and in 1944 helped to found the Liberal Party in New York State. He received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 and was made a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He died on June 1, 1971.Niebuhr indicated his overriding interest in what has been called theological anthropology, a concern with the temper of man as a contact point for religion and society, in such major works as Moral Man and degraded Society (1932), Interpretation of