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Niebuhr couched his ideas in Christ-centered principles such as the [[Great Commandment]] and the doctrine of original sin.
Niebuhr couched his ideas in Christ-centered principles such as the [[Great Commandment]] and the doctrine of original sin.
==World Affairs==
Niebuhr supported the Allies during World War II and argued for the engagement of the United States in the war. As a writer popular in the secular as well as religious arena and a professor at the Union Theological Seminary he was very influential both in the United States and abroad. While many clergy proclaimed themselves pacifists because of their World War I experiences, Niebuhr declared a victory by Germany and Japan would threaten Christianity. He renounced his socialist connections and beliefs and resigned from the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation. He based his arguments on the Protestant beliefs that sin is part of the world, that justice must take precedence over love, and that pacifism is a symbolic portrayal of absolute love but cannot prevent sin. Although they did not portray him favorably, Niebuhr's exchanges with his opponents on the issue helped him mature intellectually.<ref> Justus D. Doenecke, "Reinhold Niebuhr and his Critics: The Interventionist Controversy in World War II," ''Anglican and Episcopal History'' 1995 64(4): 459-481. </Ref>
Niebuhr debated Charles Clayton Morrison, editor of ''The Christian Century'' magazine about America's entry into World War II. Morrison and his pacifistic followers maintained that America's role should be strictly neutral and part of a negotiated peace only, while Niebuhr claimed himself to be a realist, who opposed the use of political power to attain moral ends. Morrison and his followers strongly supported the movement to outlaw war that began after World War I and the [[Kellogg-Briand Pact]] of 1928. The pact was severely challenged by the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, and in 1932, with his publication of ''Moral Man and Immoral Society'', Niebuhr broke ranks with The Christian Century and supported interventionism and power politics, culminating in his support of the reelection of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in 1940 and the publication of his own magazine, ''Christianity and Crisis''.<ref> Gary B. Bullert, "Reinhold Niebuhr and the Christian Century: World War II and the Eclipse of the Social Gospel." ''Journal of Church and State'' 2002 44(2): 271-290. 0021-969x (online)</ref> In 1945, however, Niebuhr charged that use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was "morally indefensible."
Niebuhr's defense of Roosevelt made him popular among liberals, as historian Morton White noted:
:The contemporary liberal's fascination with Niebuhr, I suggest, comes less from Niebuhr's dark theory of human nature and more from his actual political pronouncements, from the fact that he is a shrewd, courageous, and right-minded man on many political questions. Those who applaud his politics are too liable to turn then to his theory of human nature and praise it as the philosophical instrument of Niebuhr's political agreement with themselves. But very few of those whom I have called "atheists for Niebuhr" follow this inverted logic to its conclusion: they don't move from praise of Niebuhr's theory of human nature to praise of its theological ground. We may admire them for drawing the line somewhere, but certainly not for their consistency.<ref> ''Religion, Politics, and the Higher Learning'', Morton White, [[Harvard University]] Press, 1959 p.117-118</ref>}}
:The contemporary liberal's fascination with Niebuhr, I suggest, comes less from Niebuhr's dark theory of human nature and more from his actual political pronouncements, from the fact that he is a shrewd, courageous, and right-minded man on many political questions. Those who applaud his politics are too liable to turn then to his theory of human nature and praise it as the philosophical instrument of Niebuhr's political agreement with themselves. But very few of those whom I have called "atheists for Niebuhr" follow this inverted logic to its conclusion: they don't move from praise of Niebuhr's theory of human nature to praise of its theological ground. We may admire them for drawing the line somewhere, but certainly not for their consistency.<ref> ''Religion, Politics, and the Higher Learning'', Morton White, [[Harvard University]] Press, 1959 p.117-118</ref>}}
===Race ===
Niebuhr's thought on racial justice developed slowly after he abandoned socialism. Niebuhr attributed the injustices of society to human pride and self love and believed that this innate propensity for evil could not be controlled by humanity. However, he felt that a representative democracy could improve society's ills. Like Edmund Burke, Niebuhr endorsed natural evolution over imposed change and emphasized experience over theory. Niebuhr's Burkean ideology, however, often conflicted with his liberal principles, particularly regarding his perspective on racial justice. Though vehemently opposed to racial inequality, Niebuhr adopted an extremely conservative position on segregation. Yet while most liberals endorsed integration after World War II, Niebuhr remained focused on achieving equal opportunity and warned against imposing changes that could result in violence. The violence that followed peaceful demonstrations in the 1960s forced Niebuhr to reverse his position against imposed equality and witnessing the problem of the Northern ghettoes later caused him to doubt that equality was attainable.<ref> Greg Robinson, Reinhold Niebuhr: The Racial Liberal as Burkean. Prospects 2000 25: 641-661. 0361-2333 </Ref>
===Magnum Opus===
===Magnum Opus===
His two volume work ''The Nature and Destiny of Man: A Christian Interpretation'' (1941) is considered to be his Magnum Opus.
His two volume work ''The Nature and Destiny of Man: A Christian Interpretation'' (1941) is considered to be his Magnum Opus.
* Beckley, Harlan. ''Passion for Justice: Retrieving the Legacies of Walter Rauschenbusch, John A. Ryan, and Reinhold Niebuhr.'' (1992). 391 pp.
* Beckley, Harlan. ''Passion for Justice: Retrieving the Legacies of Walter Rauschenbusch, John A. Ryan, and Reinhold Niebuhr.'' (1992). 391 pp.
* Brown, Charles C. ''Niebuhr and His Age: Reinhold Niebuhr's Prophetic Role in the Twentieth Century.'' (1992). 317 pp.
* Brown, Charles C. ''Niebuhr and His Age: Reinhold Niebuhr's Prophetic Role in the Twentieth Century.'' (1992). 317 pp.
* Doenecke, Justus D. "Reinhold Niebuhr and his Critics: The Interventionist Controversy in World War II." ''Anglican and Episcopal History'' 1995 64(4): 459-481. 0896-8039, by a leading conservative historian
* Fox, Richard Wightman. ''Reinhold Niebuhr: A Biography.'' (1985). 325 pp. the standard scholarly biography
* Fox, Richard Wightman. ''Reinhold Niebuhr: A Biography.'' (1985). 325 pp. the standard scholarly biography
* Rice, Daniel F. ''Reinhold Niebuhr and John Dewey: An American Odyssey.'' (1993). 358 pp.
* Rice, Daniel F. ''Reinhold Niebuhr and John Dewey: An American Odyssey.'' (1993). 358 pp.
* [http://www.questia.com/library/religion/reinhold-niebuhr.jsp online books on Niebuhr]
* [http://www.questia.com/library/religion/reinhold-niebuhr.jsp online books on Niebuhr]
===Primary sources===
* Niebuhr, Reinhold. ''The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses'' ed. by Robert McAffee Brown (1986). 264 pp.
==References==
==References==