Overview
Papers of Harvard Divinity School professor and scholar, Richard R. Niebuhr, including published and unpublished writings, course materials, correspondence, lectures and addresses, and biographical material. In addition, there is some material related to H. Richard Niebuhr, including correspondence about his publications, lecture notes, and photographs.
Dates
- Creation: 1929-2010
Access
There is some restricted material related to student information. Please contact the Curator of Manuscripts and Archives for more information.
Extent
112 boxesThis collection is arranged into ten series, including published and unpublished material written by Richard Niebuhr, correspondence, and course material such as syllabi, bibliographies, and examinations. In addition to Richard Niebuhr’s work, the final series contains correspondence between Niebuhr and other members of his family—such as H. Richard Niebuhr, his father, and Reinhold Niebuhr, his uncle—along with correspondence about and book drafts of material by H. Richard published posthumously. A large majority of this collection comes from Richard Niebuhr’s time at Harvard Divinity School, where he taught from 1956 to 1999, and consists primarily of correspondence; lectures, articles, and addresses; and course material. Finally, there is some restricted material related to student information.
Biographical / Historical
Richard Reinhold Niebuhr was born in 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. A longtime scholar and Professor of Theology at Harvard Divinity School, Niebuhr graduated from Harvard University in 1947 with his A.B. in Philosophy, and was later ordained in the Congregational church after obtaining his Bachelor of Divinity from Union Seminary. While pastoring a church in Cornwall, Connecticut from 1950 to1952, Niebuhr was also enrolled in Yale University where he earned his Ph.D. in 1955. After working as a Lecturer on Religion at Vassar College for two years, Niebuhr was hired as a professor at Harvard Divinity School in 1956, where he taught until his retirement in 1999. During his time at Harvard Divinity School, Niebuhr taught courses on topics as varied as religious pluralism, theology, and religious symbols. His primary research interests focused on Jonathan Edwards and Friedrich Schleiermacher. Niebuhr published multiple books, articles, as well as taught seminars on the theologians. His books include Resurrection and Historical Reason: A Study of Theological Method (1957), Schleiermacher on Christ and Religion (1965) and Experiential Religion (1972). In addition to his publications, Niebuhr also held lectureships globally Cambridge University in 1966, Bangor Theological Seminary in 1978, and Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan in 1980, where he also served as a visiting professor, from 1993 to 1994.
At Harvard Divinity School, Niebuhr was especially engaged in the life of the school, chairing the Committee on the Study of Religion, 1966-1972 and 1973-1978 and the Department of Theology at various times throughout his time at Harvard. In addition, Niebuhr served on multiple other committees, including the Committee on Educational Policy and the Faculty Council. Finally, Niebuhr also played a crucial role in establishing the first undergraduate concentration in religious studies at Harvard College. Richard Niebuhr died in 2017 at the age of 90.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- Series I. Niebuhr’s student work
- Series II. Correspondence
- Series III. Lectures and addresses
- Series IV. Writings
- Series V. Course material
- Series VI. Harvard appointments, committees, etc.
- Series VII. Institutes, conferences, foundations, and associations
- Series VIII. Ministerial life
- Series IX. Major research interests
- Series X. Family and biographical information
Acquisition Information
Gift of Richard R. Niebuhr and Gustav Niebuhr, 2003-2019.
General note
The number after the slash in each entry in the following list indicates the box number, and the number in parentheses is the folder number.
Processing Information
Processed by Samantha Menapace, 2019.
- Title
- Richard R. Niebuhr papers, 1929-2010: A Finding Aid.
- Author
- Andover-Harvard Theological Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- div00761
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University Repository
Special Collections at Harvard Divinity School Library preserves and makes accessible primary source materials documenting the history of religion and theology, with particular historical emphasis on American liberal religious traditions. Though the historical strengths of the collections have been in the field of Christianity, other religious traditions are increasingly reflected, in step with Harvard Divinity School's evolving focus on global religious studies. Known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library since 1911, it was renamed the Harvard Divinity School Library in 2021.
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