Helmut Richard Niebuhr (September 3, 1894 – July 5, 1962) is considered one of the most important Christian theological

ethicists An ethicist is one whose judgment on ethics and ethical codes has come to be trusted by a specific community, and (importantly) is expressed in some way that makes it possible for others to mimic or approximate that judgment. Following the advice of ...

in 20th-century America, best known for his 1951 book ''Christ and Culture'' and his posthumously published book ''The Responsible Self''. The younger brother of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, Richard Niebuhr taught for several decades at the

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

. Both brothers were, in their day, important figures in the

neo-orthodox In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as theology of crisis and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of ...

theological school within American Protestantism. His theology (together with that of his colleague at Yale, Hans Wilhelm Frei) has been one of the main sources of

postliberal theology Postliberal theology (often called narrative theology) is a Christian theological movement that focuses on a narrative presentation of the Christian faith as regulative for the development of a coherent systematic theology. Thus, Christianity is ...

, sometimes called the "Yale school". He influenced such figures as

James Gustafson James M. Gustafson (December 3, 1925 – January 15, 2021) was an American theological ethicist. He received an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Theology at Uppsala University in 1985. He has held teaching posts at Yale Divinity School and ...

, Stanley Hauerwas, and Gordon Kaufman.

Life

Niebuhr was born on September 3, 1894, in Wright City,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, the son of Gustav Niebuhr, a minister in the Evangelical Synod of North America. His family moved to Lincoln,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, in 1902. He graduated from Elmhurst College in 1912, and

Eden Theological Seminary Eden Theological Seminary is a seminary of the United Church of Christ in Webster Groves, Missouri, near St. Louis, Missouri. The seminary was established in 1850 by German pastors in what was then the American frontier. The pastors soon formed ...

in 1915. He would later obtain a master's degree from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

in 1918, and his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1924. He started his working career as a

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

in Lincoln in 1915 and 1916. He was ordained a minister in the Evangelical Synod in 1916, and served with that body in St. Louis, Missouri, through 1918. (The synod merged in 1934 with the

German Reformed Church in the United States The Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) is a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. The present RCUS is a conservative, Calvinist denomination. It affirms the principles of the Reformation: ''Sola scriptura'' (Scriptur ...

; the subsequently formed Evangelical and Reformed Church united in 1957 with the Congregational Christian Churches to form the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

.) While living in St. Louis, he was a member and leader in Evangelical United Church of Christ in Webster Groves, Missouri, and taught at

from 1919 to 1924 and from 1927 to 1931. Between 1924 and 1927, he was the President of Elmhurst College. He taught at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

from 1931 to 1962, specializing in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. It also incorporates natural law ethics, whic ...

. Niebuhr died on July 5, 1962, in

Greenfield Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to: Engineering and Business * Greenfield agreement, an employment agreement for a new organisation * Greenfield investment, the investment in a structure in an area where no previous facilities exist * Greenf ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Teachings

Niebuhr was concerned throughout his life with the absolute sovereignty of God and the issue of historical relativism. He considered

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...

and Ernst Troeltsch to be his main influences. He accepted from Barth and

neo-orthodoxy In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as theology of crisis and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of ...

the absolute transcendence of God. He believed that God is above history, that he makes commands upon human beings, and that all history is under the control of this God. Niebuhr borrowed often from

Paul Tillich Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theologi ...

's notion of God. He was comfortable describing God as Being-itself, the One, or the Ground of Being. In this regard, Niebuhr held something of a middle ground between the dogmatic but dialectical theology of Karl Barth and the philosophically-oriented modified liberalism of Paul Tillich. Niebuhr was also concerned with historical relativism. While God may be absolute and transcendent, human beings are not. Humans are a part of the flux and movement of the world. Because of this, how God is comprehended is never permanent. God is always understood differently by people at different times in history and in different social locations. Niebuhr's theology shows great sensitivity to how expressions of faith differ from one religious community to another. His thought in some respects anticipated latter-day liberal Protestant concerns about

pluralism Pluralism denotes a diversity of views or stands rather than a single approach or method. Pluralism or pluralist may refer to: Politics and law * Pluralism (political philosophy), the acknowledgement of a diversity of political systems * Plur ...

and tolerance. However, in ''The Kingdom of God in America'' (1937), he also criticized the then-liberal

social gospel The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean envir ...

, describing its message as, "A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.". Niebuhr was, by training, a Christian ethicist. In this capacity, his biggest concern was how human beings relate to God, to each other, to their communities, and to the world. Niebuhr's theological ethics can be described, roughly, as relational. His greatest ethical treatise was ''The Responsible Self'', published shortly after his death. It was intended to be the prologue of a much larger book on ethics. His sudden death prevented his writing this work. In ''The Responsible Self'', Niebuhr dealt with human beings as responding agents. Human beings are always "in response" to some influence, whether another human being, a community, the natural order or history, or, above all, God.

''Christ and Culture''

His most famous work is ''Christ and Culture.'' It is often referenced in discussions and writings on a Christian's response to the world's culture. In the book, Niebuhr gives a history of how Christianity has responded to culture. He outlines five prevalent viewpoints: :Christ against Culture. For the exclusive Christian, history is the story of a rising church or Christian culture and a dying pagan civilization. :Christ of Culture. For the cultural Christian, history is the story of the Spirit's encounter with nature. :Christ above Culture. For the synthesist, history is a period of preparation under law, reason, gospel, and church for an ultimate communion of the soul with God. :Christ and Culture in Paradox. For the dualist, history is the time of struggle between faith and unbelief, a period between the giving of the promise of life and its fulfillment. (Many have regarded the thought of Niebuhr's brother Reinhold as fitting into this category.) :Christ Transforming Culture. For the conversionist, history is the story of God's mighty deeds and humanity's response to them. Conversionists live somewhat less "between the times" and somewhat more in the divine "now" than do the followers listed above. Eternity, to the conversionist, focuses less on the action of God before time or life with God after time, and more on the

presence of God Divine presence, presence of God, Inner God, or simply presence is a concept in religion, spirituality, and theology that deals with the ability of God to be "present" with human beings. According to some types of monotheism God is omnipresent; h ...

in time. Hence the conversionist is more concerned with the divine possibility of a present renewal than with conservation of what has been given in creation or preparing for what will be given in a final redemption.

Works

*''The Social Sources of Denominationalism'' (1929) *''The Kingdom of God in America'' (1937) *''The Meaning of Revelation'' (1941) *''Christ and Culture'' (1951) *''The Purpose of the Church and Its Ministry'' (1956) *''Radical Monotheism and Western Culture'' (1960) *''The Responsible Self'' (1963) *''Faith on Earth: An Inquiry into the Structure of Human Faith'' (1989).

Translation

, ''Die religiöse Lage der Gegenwart'' (Berlin: Ullstein 1926), as ''The Religious Situation'' (New York: Henry Holt & Co. 1932; reprint: Meridian Books, New York 1956).

References

External links

*H. Richard Niebuh
H. Richard Niebuhr Online Collections
*H. Richard Niebuh
The Niebuhrs at Elmhurst College
* The papers of H. Richard Niebuhr are in Harvard Divinity School Library at Harvard Divinity School in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

.
Addresses, lectures, sermons, teaching materials, and writings

Correspondence, lectures, addresses, writings, teaching materials, diplomas, and scrapbooks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niebuhr, H. Richard 1894 births 1962 deaths 20th-century American theologians American people of German descent Christian ethicists Eden Theological Seminary alumni Elmhurst College alumni People from Warren County, Missouri Relational ethics Washington University in St. Louis alumni Yale University alumni Yale University faculty American Evangelical and Reformed Church members United Church of Christ ministers People from Lincoln, Illinois Yale Sterling Professors Writers from Missouri