Reinhold Niebuhr was a leading American theologian whose profound influence on the political and theological discourse of the 20th century continues to be felt today.
Reinhold Niebuhr 1910 was ordained a minister in the German Evangelical Synod of North America, a forerunner of the United Church of Christ, and taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
Reinhold’s writings and dynamic lectures made him a national figure from the 1930s to the 1970s. His work deeply influenced leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Hubert Humphrey, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.
[Reinhold was] the supreme American theologian of the 20th century.
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
Niebuhr was the author of a number of articles and books, including:
- The Nature and Destiny of Man
- Moral Man and Immoral Society
- The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness
In 1943, he wrote a small prayer for a church service in Massachusetts that has become known around the world as the Serenity Prayer.