Bio: (1894-1962) American theologian and sociologist. Richard Niebuhr got his Ph.D. from the Yale University Divinity School and taught at Eden Theological Seminary, Elmhurst College, and Yale Divinity School.

Richard Niebuhr, in his book The Social Sources of Denominationalism (1929), studies the dramatic transformations of religious organizations and institutions in the United States. Niebuhr expounds on the dual church-sect typology, introducing the third type of religious organization – the denomination – that lies between the church and the sect. Denominations are larger and more institutionalized than sects, but smaller and less monopolistic than churches. Denominations, like churches, have a bureaucratic and hierarchical organization and are inclusive and appeal to all members of society. Denominations differ from churches as they don’t claim a monopoly on religious truth; they are separated from the state and believe in the separation of church and state. He also researched what causative influence material factors such as class, race, region, immigrant status, etc., had on divisions in the church in the USA.

Main works

Sources of Denominationalism (1929);

Kingdom of God in America (1937);

The Meaning of Revelation (1941);

Christ and Culture (1951);

The Purpose of the Church and Its Ministry (1956);

Radical Monotheism and Western Culture (1960);

The Responsible Self (1963);

Faith on Earth (1989);