Reinhold Niebuhr: Burkean Conservative

The name of Reinhold Niebuhr, America’s outstanding Protestant theologian, is not likely to arouse readers of national review to demonstrations of enthusiastic approval. Very much co the contrary! In the columns of this journal, Niebuhr has generally appeared as an unregenerate Liberal, devoted to Liberal causes, a stalwart of the Liberal Establishment. Yet I propose to argue that this very same Niebuhr is a conservative in the proper sense of the word, and that he is a conservative precisely by virtue of his theological position. And in making my case, I hope also to do something toward clarifying these two almost hopelessly confused terms, Liberalism and conservatism.

Herberg

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Will Herberg

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The name of Reinhold Niebuhr, America’s outstanding Protestant theologian, is not likely to arouse readers of national review to demonstrations of enthusiastic approval. Very much co the contrary! In the columns of this journal, Niebuhr has generally appeared as an unregenerate Liberal, devoted to Liberal causes, a stalwart of the Liberal Establishment. Yet I propose to argue that this very same Niebuhr is a conservative in the proper sense of the word, and that he is a conservative precisely by virtue of his theological position. And in making my case, I hope also to do something toward clarifying these two almost hopelessly confused terms, Liberalism and conservatism.

Herberg