Richard John Neuhaus
Encyclopedia
Richard John Neuhaus was a prominent Christian cleric (first as a Lutheran pastor and later as a Roman Catholic priest
) and writer
. Born in Canada
, Neuhaus moved to the United States
where he became a naturalized United States citizen. He was the founder and editor of the monthly journal First Things
and the author of several books, including The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America (1984), The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World (1987), and Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth (2006). He was a staunch defender of the Roman Catholic Church's teachings on abortion and other life issues and an unofficial advisor of President George W. Bush
on bioethical issues.
, Neuhaus was one of eight children of a Lutheran
minister. Although he had dropped out of high school at 16 to operate a gas station in Texas
, he graduated from Concordia Seminary
, in St. Louis, Missouri
. In 1960 he was ordained
a Lutheran minister, later serving as pastor
of St. John the Evangelist Church, a poor predominantly black and Hispanic congregation in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
. From the pulpit he addressed civil rights and social justice concerns and spoke against the Vietnam War
. In the late 1960s he gained national prominence when, together with Jesuit priest Daniel Berrigan
and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
, he founded Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam. He was active in the Lutheran "Evangelical Catholic" movement and spent time at Saint Augustine's House, the Lutheran Benedictine monastery, in Oxford, Michigan. He was active in liberal politics until Roe v. Wade
was handed down in 1973 which changed his perspective. He became a member of the growing neoconservative movement and an outspoken advocate of "democratic capitalism". He also avocated faith-based policy initiatives based upon Judeo-Christian values by the federal government. He is the originator of "Neuhaus's Law", which states that "Where orthodoxy is optional, orthodoxy will sooner or later be proscribed".
Neuhaus helped to found the Institute on Religion and Democracy
in 1981 and remained on its board until his death. He wrote its founding document, "Christianity and Democracy". In 1984, he established the Center for Religion and Society as part of the Rockford Institute
, which also publishes Chronicles
. He and the center were "forcibly evicted" from the institute in 1989 under disputed circumstances. In 1990, Neuhaus founded the Institute on Religion and Public Life and its journal, First Things
, an ecumenical journal "whose purpose is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society."
on September 8, 1990. Neuhaus had belonged to and was ordained in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, the conservative wing of American Lutheranism. He subsequently joined the American Lutheran Church
, a predecessor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
. A year after becoming a Roman Catholic, he was ordained
by John Cardinal O'Connor as a priest
of the Archdiocese of New York. He was a commentator for the Catholic television network
EWTN
during the funeral of Pope John Paul II
and the election of Pope Benedict XVI
.
Neuhaus expressed a strong hope in universal salvation, but stopped short of teaching it as a doctrine, emphasizing it as a hope, not a belief. "In sum: we do not know; only God knows; but we may hope." He wrote:
Similar to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Neuhaus said that it cannot be known if hell
is populated by anyone.
Neuhaus made a posthumous appearance in the 2010 award-winning film, The Human Experience
. In addition, his voice is featured in the narration of the film and the film's trailer.
of the 1960s. During the 2004 Presidential campaign he was a leading advocate for denying communion to Catholic politicians who supported abortion and voted against the church's teaching on life issues. It was a mistake, he declared, to isolate abortion "from other issues of the sacredness of life."
Neuhaus promoted ecumenical dialogue and social conservatism
. Along with Charles Colson
, he edited Evangelicals and Catholics Together: Toward a Common Mission. This ecumenical manifesto sparked much debate; some claimed that Neuhaus and Colson had compromised doctrines to promote neoconservativism and had asked that both branches of Christianity stop trying to convert the other's members.
A close, yet unofficial, advisor of President George W. Bush
, Neuhaus advised Bush on a range of religious and ethical
matters, including abortion
, stem-cell
research, cloning
, and the defense of marriage amendment
. In 2005, under the heading of "Bushism Made Catholic" Neuhaus was named one of the "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America" by Time Magazine
:
Neuhaus died from complications of cancer in New York
, on January 8, 2009, aged 72.
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
) and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. Born in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Neuhaus moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he became a naturalized United States citizen. He was the founder and editor of the monthly journal First Things
First Things
First Things is an ecumenical journal focused on creating a "religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The journal is inter-denominational and inter-religious, representing a broad intellectual tradition of Christian and Jewish critique of contemporary society...
and the author of several books, including The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America (1984), The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World (1987), and Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth (2006). He was a staunch defender of the Roman Catholic Church's teachings on abortion and other life issues and an unofficial advisor of President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on bioethical issues.
Lutheran minister
Born in Pembroke, OntarioPembroke, Ontario
Pembroke is a city in the province of Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...
, Neuhaus was one of eight children of a Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
minister. Although he had dropped out of high school at 16 to operate a gas station in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, he graduated from Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary is located in Clayton, Missouri, an inner-ring suburb on the western border of St. Louis, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod . The current president of...
, in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. In 1960 he was ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
a Lutheran minister, later serving as pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of St. John the Evangelist Church, a poor predominantly black and Hispanic congregation in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
. From the pulpit he addressed civil rights and social justice concerns and spoke against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. In the late 1960s he gained national prominence when, together with Jesuit priest Daniel Berrigan
Daniel Berrigan
Daniel Berrigan, SJ is an American Catholic priest, peace activist, and poet. Daniel and his brother Philip were for a time on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for their involvement in antiwar protests during the Vietnam war....
and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.-Biography:...
, he founded Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam. He was active in the Lutheran "Evangelical Catholic" movement and spent time at Saint Augustine's House, the Lutheran Benedictine monastery, in Oxford, Michigan. He was active in liberal politics until Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
was handed down in 1973 which changed his perspective. He became a member of the growing neoconservative movement and an outspoken advocate of "democratic capitalism". He also avocated faith-based policy initiatives based upon Judeo-Christian values by the federal government. He is the originator of "Neuhaus's Law", which states that "Where orthodoxy is optional, orthodoxy will sooner or later be proscribed".
Neuhaus helped to found the Institute on Religion and Democracy
Institute on Religion and Democracy
The Institute on Religion and Democracy is a Christian think tank that promotes Christian conservatism in public life. The organization comments on current events in the Christian community...
in 1981 and remained on its board until his death. He wrote its founding document, "Christianity and Democracy". In 1984, he established the Center for Religion and Society as part of the Rockford Institute
Rockford Institute
Rockford Institute is a conservative think-tank associated with paleoconservatism, based in Rockford, Illinois. It is known for the John Randolph Club, and publishes Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture....
, which also publishes Chronicles
Chronicles (magazine)
Chronicles is a U.S. monthly magazine published by the Rockford Institute. Its full current name is Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture. The magazine is known for promoting anti-globalism, anti-intervention and anti-immigration stances within conservative politics, and is considered one of...
. He and the center were "forcibly evicted" from the institute in 1989 under disputed circumstances. In 1990, Neuhaus founded the Institute on Religion and Public Life and its journal, First Things
First Things
First Things is an ecumenical journal focused on creating a "religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The journal is inter-denominational and inter-religious, representing a broad intellectual tradition of Christian and Jewish critique of contemporary society...
, an ecumenical journal "whose purpose is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society."
Roman Catholic priest
Neuhas was received into the Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
on September 8, 1990. Neuhaus had belonged to and was ordained in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, the conservative wing of American Lutheranism. He subsequently joined the American Lutheran Church
American Lutheran Church
The American Lutheran Church was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, the ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House , also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher...
, a predecessor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
. A year after becoming a Roman Catholic, he was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
by John Cardinal O'Connor as a priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
of the Archdiocese of New York. He was a commentator for the Catholic television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
EWTN
Eternal Word Television Network
The Eternal Word Television Network is an American cable television network which presents Catholic-themed programming. It was founded in 1980 by Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, PCPA...
during the funeral of Pope John Paul II
Funeral of Pope John Paul II
The funeral of Pope John Paul II was held on 8 April 2005, six days after his death on 2 April. The funeral was followed by the novemdiales devotional in which the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches observe nine days of mourning....
and the election of Pope Benedict XVI
Papal conclave, 2005
The Papal conclave of 2005 was convened as a result of the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to elect John Paul's successor. The conclave began on 18 April 2005 and ended on the following...
.
Neuhaus expressed a strong hope in universal salvation, but stopped short of teaching it as a doctrine, emphasizing it as a hope, not a belief. "In sum: we do not know; only God knows; but we may hope." He wrote:
Similar to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Neuhaus said that it cannot be known if hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
is populated by anyone.
Neuhaus made a posthumous appearance in the 2010 award-winning film, The Human Experience
The Human Experience
The Human Experience is a documentary film, produced by Grassroots Films, which tells the story of and his travels, as he searches for answers to the question: what does it mean to be human? The film is divided into the three experiences, which take Jeffrey and his friends to New York, to Peru,...
. In addition, his voice is featured in the narration of the film and the film's trailer.
Political significance
In later years, Neuhaus compared the pro-life struggle to the civil rights movementCivil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
of the 1960s. During the 2004 Presidential campaign he was a leading advocate for denying communion to Catholic politicians who supported abortion and voted against the church's teaching on life issues. It was a mistake, he declared, to isolate abortion "from other issues of the sacredness of life."
Neuhaus promoted ecumenical dialogue and social conservatism
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
. Along with Charles Colson
Charles Colson
Charles Wendell "Chuck" Colson is a Christian leader, cultural commentator, and former Special Counsel for President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973....
, he edited Evangelicals and Catholics Together: Toward a Common Mission. This ecumenical manifesto sparked much debate; some claimed that Neuhaus and Colson had compromised doctrines to promote neoconservativism and had asked that both branches of Christianity stop trying to convert the other's members.
A close, yet unofficial, advisor of President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Neuhaus advised Bush on a range of religious and ethical
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
matters, including abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, stem-cell
Stem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
research, cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
, and the defense of marriage amendment
Federal Marriage Amendment
The Federal Marriage Amendment H.J. Res. 56 was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have limited marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman...
. In 2005, under the heading of "Bushism Made Catholic" Neuhaus was named one of the "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America" by Time Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
:
Neuhaus died from complications of cancer in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on January 8, 2009, aged 72.
Books
- Movement and Revolution (co-authored with Peter Berger, 1970)
- In Defense of People: Ecology and the Seduction of Radicalism (1971)
- Time Toward Home: The American Experiment as Revelation (1975)
- Against the World for the World: The Hartford Appeal and the Future of American Religion (co-authored with Peter Berger, 1976)
- Unsecular America (1986)
- The Naked Public SquareThe Naked Public SquareThe Naked Public Square is a 1984 book written by then-Lutheran pastor Richard John Neuhaus about the relationship between religion, culture, and politics in the context of 1980s American secularism....
: Religion and Democracy in America (1986; ISBN 0802835880) - Confession, Conflict, and Community (co-edited with Peter Berger, 1986)
- Dispensations: The Future of South Africa As South Africans See It (1986)
- Piety and Politics: Evangelicals and Fundamentalists Confront the World (co-editor with Michael Cromartie, 1987)
- Democracy and the Renewal of Public Education (editor with author Richard Baer, 1987)
- Jews in Unsecular America (1987)
- The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World (1987; ISBN 0060660961)
- Believing Today: Jew and Christian in Conversation (co-authored with Leon Klinicki, 1989)
- Reinhold Niebuhr Today (1989)
- Guaranteeing the Good Life: Medicine and the Return of Eugenics (editor, 1990)
- Doing Well & Doing Good: The Challenge to the Christian Capitalist (1992)
- America Against Itself: Moral Vision and the Public Order (1992; ISBN 0268006334)
- Freedom for Ministry: A Guide for the Perplexed Who are Called to Serve (1992; ISBN 0060660953)
- To Empower People: From State to Civil Society (co-authored with Peter Berger, 1996)
- The End of Democracy?: The Celebrated First Things Debate, With Arguments Pro and Con and "the Anatomy of a Controversy" (co-edited with Mitchell Muncy, 1997)
- The Best of the Public Square (1997)
- Appointment In Rome: The Church in America Awakening (1999)
- The Eternal Pity: Reflections on Dying (editor, 2000; ISBN 0268027579)
- A Free Society Reader: Principles for the New Millenium (2000; ISBN 0-7391-0144-7)
- There We Stood, Here We Stand: Eleven Lutherans Rediscover Their Catholic Roots (co-authored with Timothy Drake, 2001)
- The Second One Thousand Years: Ten People Who Defined a Millennium (editor, 2001)
- The Best of the Public Square: Book 2 (2001)
- Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross (2001; ISBN 0465049338)
- As I Lay Dying: Meditations Upon Returning (2002; ISBN 0465049303)
- The Chosen People in an Almost Chosen Nation: Jews and Judaism in America (editor, 2002)
- Your Word Is Truth: A Project of Evangelicals and Catholics Together (co-edited with Charles ColsonCharles ColsonCharles Wendell "Chuck" Colson is a Christian leader, cultural commentator, and former Special Counsel for President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973....
; 2002; ISBN 0802805086) - As I Lay Dying: Meditations Upon Returning (2003)
- The Best of the Public Square: Book 3 (2007)
- Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth (2007; ISBN 0465049354)
- American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile (2009)
Journalism
- "We Shall Not Weary, We Shall Not Rest" First ThingsFirst ThingsFirst Things is an ecumenical journal focused on creating a "religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The journal is inter-denominational and inter-religious, representing a broad intellectual tradition of Christian and Jewish critique of contemporary society...
- On the Square blog (11 Jul 2008), retrieved 31 December 2008.
Further reading
External links
- Neuhaus online archive
- Neuhaus discusses his conversion to Catholicism in a June 1991 interview for 2000AD
- A Strange New Regime: The Naked Public Square and the Passing of the American Constitutional Order, by Richard John Neuhaus, Heritage FoundationHeritage FoundationThe Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
. - Newsweek obituary by George WeigelGeorge WeigelGeorge Weigel is an American author, and political and social activist. He currently serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Weigel was the Founding President of the James Madison Foundation...