Richard Neuhaus
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Richard John Neuhaus (May 14, 1936–January 8, 2009) was a prominent Christian cleric (first in the
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...
, then ELCA pastor and later as a Catholic priest) and writer. Born in Canada, Neuhaus moved to the United States where he became a naturalized United States citizen. He was the longtime editor of the ''Lutheran Forum'' magazine newsletter and later founder and editor of the monthly journal '' First Things'' and the author of numerous books. A staunch defender of the Roman Catholic Church's teachings on abortion and other life issues, he served as an unofficial adviser to 43rd President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on bioethical issues.Dennis Sadowski, "Fr. Neuhaus, adviser to George Bush, dies aged 72.", '' The Catholic Herald'', London, January 16, 2009, p. 6.


Early life and education

Born in Pembroke, Ontario, on May 14, 1936, Neuhaus was one of eight children of a Lutheran
minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
and his wife. Although he had dropped out of high school at age 16 to operate a gas station in Texas, he returned to school, graduating from
Concordia Lutheran College , motto_translation = Without the Lord, all is in vain , established = 1946 , type = Independent, co-educational, day & boarding , denomination = Lutheran , slogan = , principal = Anton Prinsloo , key_people = , chaplain ...
of Austin, Texas, in 1956. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts and
Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...
degrees from Concordia Seminary in 1960.


Career


Lutheran minister

Neuhaus was first an ordained minister in the conservative
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...
. In 1974, a major schism in the Missouri Synod resulted in many "modernist" churches splitting to form the more
progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...
Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches to which Neuhaus eventually affiliated. The AELC, merged a decade later in 1988 with the other two more liberal Lutheran denominations in the US, the American Lutheran Church (1960) and the Lutheran Church in America (1962), to finally form the current
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
, for which Neuhaus was a member of the clergy. From 1961 to 1978, he served as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church, a poor, predominantly black and Hispanic congregation in
Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...
, Brooklyn. From the pulpit he addressed civil rights and social justice concerns and spoke against the Vietnam War. In the late 1960s he gained national prominence when, together with
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
priest Daniel Berrigan and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, he founded Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam. He was active in the Evangelical Catholic movement in Lutheranism and spent time at Saint Augustine's House, the Lutheran Benedictine monastery, in Oxford, Michigan. He was active in liberal politics until the 1973 ruling on abortion in ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...
'' by the US Supreme Court, which he opposed. He became a member of the growing neoconservative movement and an outspoken advocate of "
democratic capitalism Democratic capitalism, also referred to as market democracy, is a political and economic system. It integrates resource allocation by marginal productivity (synonymous with free-market capitalism), with policies of resource allocation by social ...
". He also advocated faith-based policy initiatives by the federal government based upon Judeo-Christian values. He originated the "Neuhaus's Law",''First Things''
"The Unhappy Fate of Optional Orthodoxy"
''First Things'', February 2009
which states, "Where orthodoxy is optional, orthodoxy will sooner or later be proscribed." He was a longtime editor of the monthly newsletter published in between quarterly issues of the interdenominational independent journal ''Lutheran Forum'', published by the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a supporter of the movement to reestablish, in Lutheranism, the permanent diaconate ( deacon) as a full-fledged office in the threefold ministry of bishop / presbyter (priest) / deacon under the historic episcopacy (office of bishop), following earlier actions of the Roman Catholics in the Second Vatican Council and the churches of the Anglican Communion (including the Episcopal Church in the US). In 1981, Neuhaus helped to found the Institute on Religion and Democracy and remained on its board until his death. He wrote its founding document, "Christianity and Democracy". In 1984, he established the Center for Religion and Society as part of the conservative think-tank
Rockford Institute The Rockford Institute was an American conservative think-tank associated with paleoconservatism, based in Rockford, Illinois. It ran the John Randolph Club and published the magazine ''Chronicles''. In early 2019, the Rockford Institute merged wi ...
in Rockford, Illinois, which publishes '' Chronicles''. In 1989, he and the center were "forcibly evicted" from the institute's eastern offices in New York City under disputed circumstances. In March 1990, Neuhaus founded the
Institute on Religion and Public Life ''First Things'' (''FT'') is an ecumenical and conservative religious journal aimed at "advanc nga religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The magazine, which focuses on theology, liturgy, church history, religious ...
and its journal, '' First Things'', an ecumenical journal "whose purpose is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society."


Roman Catholic priest

In September 1990, Neuhaus was received into the Roman Catholic Church. A year after becoming a Roman Catholic, he was ordained by Cardinal John O'Connor as a priest of the Archdiocese of New York. He served as a commentator for the Catholic television network Eternal Word Television (EWTN) during the funeral of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI. Neuhaus continued to edit ''First Things'' as a Catholic priest. He was a sought-after public speaker and wrote several books, both scholarly and popular genres. He appeared in the 2010 film, ''
The Human Experience ''The Human Experience'' is a 2008 documentary produced by Grassroots Films and directed by Charles Kinnane. The film tells the story of brothers Clifford and Jeffrey Azize and their travels as they search for answers to the question, "What does i ...
'', released after his death, where his voice features in the narration and in the film's trailer.


Personal life and death

Neuhaus died from complications of cancer in New York City, on January 8, 2009, aged 72.


Political significance

In later years, Neuhaus compared
anti-abortion activism Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respon ...
to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. During the 2004 presidential campaign, he was a leading advocate for denying communion to Catholic politicians who supported abortion. It was a mistake, he declared, to isolate abortion "from other issues of the sacredness of life." Neuhaus promoted ecumenical dialogue and
social conservatism Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institutio ...
. Along with Charles Colson, he edited ''Evangelicals and Catholics Together: Toward a Common Mission'' (1995). This ecumenical manifesto sparked much debate. A close yet unofficial adviser of President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, he advised Bush on a range of religious and ethical matters, including abortion,
stem-cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...
research, cloning, and the Federal Marriage Amendment. ''Time'' Magazine
The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America – Richard John Neuhaus
2005
In 2005, under the heading of "Bushism Made Catholic", Neuhaus was named one of the "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America" by '' Time'' magazine: Neuhaus was criticized for his political engagement as "
theoconservatism The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with t ...
". In contrast, the theologian David Bentley Hart described Neuhaus as
a reflective, intelligent, self-possessed, generous, and principled man, is opinionated (definitely), but not at all spiteful or resentful towards those who disagree with him; words like "absolutist" are vacuous abstractions when applied to him. His magazine publishes articles that argue (sometimes quite forcibly) views contrary to his own, and he seems quite pleased that it should do so.


Works


Books

*''Movement and Revolution'' (co-authored with Peter Berger, 1970) *''In Defense of People: Ecology and the Seduction of Radicalism'' (1971) *''Time Toward Home: The American Experiment as Revelation'' (1975) *''Against the World for the World: The Hartford Appeal and the Future of American Religion'' (co-authored with Peter Berger, 1976) *''Freedom for Ministry'' (1979) *''Unsecular America'' (1986) *'' The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America'' (1986; ) *''Confession, Conflict, and Community'' (co-edited with Peter Berger, 1986) *''Dispensations: The Future of South Africa As South Africans See It'' (1986) *''Piety and Politics: Evangelicals and Fundamentalists Confront the World'' (co-editor with Michael Cromartie, 1987) *''Democracy and the Renewal of Public Education'' (editor with author Richard Baer, 1987) *''Jews in Unsecular America'' (1987) *''The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World'' (1987; ) *''Believing Today: Jew and Christian in Conversation'' (co-authored with Leon Klinicki, 1989) *''Reinhold Niebuhr Today'' (1989) *''Guaranteeing the Good Life: Medicine and the Return of Eugenics'' (editor, 1990) *''Doing Well & Doing Good: The Challenge to the Christian Capitalist'' (1992) *''America Against Itself: Moral Vision and the Public Order'' (1992; ) *''Freedom for Ministry: A Guide for the Perplexed Who Are Called to Serve'' (1992; ) *''To Empower People: From State to Civil Society'' (co-authored with Peter Berger, 1996) *''The End of Democracy? The Celebrated First Things Debate, With Arguments Pro and Con and "the Anatomy of a Controversy"'' (co-edited with Mitchell Muncy, 1997) *''The Best of the Public Square'' (1997) *''Appointment in Rome: The Church in America Awakening'' (1999) *''The Eternal Pity: Reflections on Dying'' (editor, 2000; ) *''A Free Society Reader: Principles for the New Millennium'' (2000; ) *''There We Stood, Here We Stand: Eleven Lutherans Rediscover Their Catholic Roots'' (co-authored with Timothy Drake, 2001) *''The Second One Thousand Years: Ten People Who Defined a Millennium'' (editor, 2001) *''The Best of the Public Square: Book 2'' (2001) *''Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross'' (2001; ) *''As I Lay Dying: Meditations Upon Returning'' (2002; ) *''The Chosen People in an Almost Chosen Nation: Jews and Judaism in America'' (editor, 2002) *''Your Word Is Truth: A Project of Evangelicals and Catholics Together'' (co-edited with Charles Colson; 2002; ) *''As I Lay Dying: Meditations Upon Returning'' (2003) *''The Best of the Public Square: Book 3'' (2007) *''Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth'' (2007; ) *''American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile'' (2009)


''On the Square'' blog

*


References


Further reading

* Boyagoda, Randy (2015). Richard John Neuhaus: a life in the public square. New York: Image * *


External links


ProfileNeuhaus online archive
* ** ttps://www.c-span.org/video/?169660-1/as-lay-dying ''Booknotes'' interview with Neuhaus on ''As I Lay Dying: Meditations Upon Returning'' May 26, 2002
''In Depth'' interview with Neuhaus
June 5, 2005
"A Strange New Regime: The Naked Public Square and the Passing of the American Constitutional Order"
by Neuhaus for the Heritage Foundation
''Newsweek'' obituary
by
George Weigel George Weigel (born 1951) is a Catholic neoconservative American author, political analyst, and social activist. He currently serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Weigel was the Founding President of the ...

''Slate'' obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neuhaus, Richard John 1936 births 2009 deaths American political activists American anti-abortion activists American Roman Catholic religious writers American theologians Canadian emigrants to the United States Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Editors of Christian publications People from Pembroke, Ontario Naturalized citizens of the United States Public theologians 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests Editors of religious publications Concordia Seminary alumni