Richard Roberts (31 May 1874 – 10 April 1945) was a Canadian Christian theologian and author expounding the social responsibilities of the Christian conscience. He was “one of the most influential pacifists in Canada during the interwar years”.
With the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Roberts joined with
Henry Hodgkin
Henry Theodore Hodgkin (1877–1933) was a medical doctor and a British Quaker missionary who, in the course of his 55-year life, co-founded the West China Union University in Chengdu, co-founded and led the first Christian pacifist movement, the ...
and others to launch the
Fellowship of Reconciliation and he served as its first secretary. In part to help spread the organization to America, he emigrated from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1917. In
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
he joined
Reinhold Niebuhr and
Kirby Page Kirby Page (1890–1957) was an American Disciples of Christ minister, an author, and a peace activist.
Life
In 1890 Kirby Page was born in Hamlet, Texas after which his family moved frequently. The father deserted the family when Kirby was nine y ...
on the editorial board of ''
The World Tomorrow''. He acted as a liaison between British and American pacifists throughout the war.
In 1922, Roberts emigrated to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
where in 1926 he wrote ''The Christian and War'', “the definitive Canadian pacificist statement of the period”.
Soon afterwards he moved to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
where he established a new chapter of the Fellowship of Reconciliation at
Sherbourne Street United Church
Saint Luke's United Church is located at 353 Sherbourne Street (on the southeast corner of Carlton and Sherbourne Streets) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally built across the street from the old site of Toronto General Hospital, it is now ac ...
. In the early 1930s, Roberts drafted the
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...
’s endorsement of the
World Disarmament Conference
The Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments, generally known as the Geneva Conference or World Disarmament Conference, was an international conference of states held in Geneva, Switzerland, between February 1932 and November 1934 ...
.
[Richard Roberts Papers, United Church of Canada Archives, Toronto]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Richard
Canadian Christian pacifists
Canadian anti-war activists
Alumni of Aberystwyth University
1874 births
1945 deaths
People from Blaenau Ffestiniog