Will Herberg
Encyclopedia
Will Herberg was an American Jewish writer, intellectual and scholar. He was known as a social philosopher and sociologist of religion, as well as a Jewish theologian.
, and became a communist, a follower of Jay Lovestone
in the American Communist Party
. He later turned away from Marxism
and became a religious conservative, founding the quarterly Judaism with Robert Gordis
and Milton R. Konvitz
. During the 1960s he was Religion Editor of the conservative journal National Review
, and taught at Drew University
.
During the 1950s, this book, as well as the essay Judaism and Modern Man, set out influential positions, on Judaism and on the American religious tradition in general.
Herberg also wrote that anti-Catholicism
is the anti-semitism of secular Jewish intellectuals.
at the time, that the civil rights campaign was moving too quickly and broke up the fabric of American society in an overly socially disruptive manner, not friendly to proper social cohesion. They supported what is often termed the Booker T. Washington
position of "gradual reform".
's fusionist conservative National Review
magazine.
Early life
Herberg was brought up in a secular Jewish family in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, and became a communist, a follower of Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone was at various times a member of the Socialist Party of America, a leader of the Communist Party USA, leader of a small oppositionist party, an anti-Communist and Central Intelligence Agency helper, and foreign policy advisor to the leadership of the AFL-CIO and various unions...
in the American Communist Party
Independent Labor League of America
The Communist Party of the USA , led by former General Secretary of the Communist Party USA Jay Lovestone, was a small oppositionist Communist movement of the 1930s. The organization emerged from a factional fight in the CPUSA in 1929 and unsuccessfully sought to reintegrate with that organization...
. He later turned away from Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
and became a religious conservative, founding the quarterly Judaism with Robert Gordis
Robert Gordis
Robert Gordis was a leading Conservative rabbi. He founded the first Conservative Jewish day school, served as President of the Rabbinical Assembly and the Synagogue Council of America, and was a professor at Jewish Theological Seminary of America from 1940 to 1992.He wrote one of the first...
and Milton R. Konvitz
Milton R. Konvitz
Milton Konvitz was a former Cornell University faculty member. He died September 5, 2003 at the age of 95.-Early Life, Education and Early Career:...
. During the 1960s he was Religion Editor of the conservative journal National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, and taught at Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
.
Protestant, Catholic, Jew
His essay, Protestant, Catholic, Jew, created a sociological framework for the study of religion in the United States. Herberg demonstrated how immigration and American ethnic culture were reflected in religious movements and institutions.During the 1950s, this book, as well as the essay Judaism and Modern Man, set out influential positions, on Judaism and on the American religious tradition in general.
Herberg also wrote that anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
is the anti-semitism of secular Jewish intellectuals.
Cut flower culture
Herberg is credited with coining the phrase "cut flower culture" to describe the spiritual rootlessness of modern European and American societies. This epithet is typically taken to imply that these societies cannot long survive without being regrafted onto their Judeo-Christian roots. In Judaism and Modern Man, Herberg writes ...- The attempt made in recent decades by secularist thinkers to disengage the moral principles of western civilization from their scripturally based religious context, in the assurance that they could live a life of their own as "humanistic" ethics, has resulted in our "cut flower culture." Cut flowers retain their original beauty and fragrance, but only so long as they retain the vitality that they have drawn from their now-severed roots; after that is exhausted, they wither and die. So with freedom, brotherhood, justice, and personal dignity — the values that form the moral foundation of our civilization. Without the life-giving power of the faith out of which they have sprung, they possess neither meaning nor vitality.
Opposition to the Civil Rights Movement
In his September 7, 1965 National Review article, "'Civil Rights' and Violence: Who Are the Guilty Ones?", Herberg wrote of his opposition/skepticism towards the civil rights movement, feeling that, like many of his colleagues at National ReviewNational Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
at the time, that the civil rights campaign was moving too quickly and broke up the fabric of American society in an overly socially disruptive manner, not friendly to proper social cohesion. They supported what is often termed the Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
position of "gradual reform".
Contributions to Conservatism
Herberg was also a prominent traditionalist conservative and wrote for traditionalist publications as Russell Kirk's Modern Age (periodical). He was also a frequent contributor to William F. Buckley, Jr.William F. Buckley, Jr.
William Frank Buckley, Jr. was an American conservative author and commentator. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosted 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing was noted for...
's fusionist conservative National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
magazine.
Works
- Marxism and political thought New York: New Workers School,(1930s)
- Which program for revolutionists? New York: New Workers School,(1930s)
- American revolutionary traditions New York: New Workers School,(1932)
- The Heritage of the Civil War New York : Workers Age Publishing Association (1932)
- Dialectical materialism New York: New Workers School,(1933)
- Historical materialism New York: New Workers School,(1933)
- The NRA and American Labor New York : Workers Age Publishing Association (1933)
- Theoretical system of Leninism New York: New Workers School,(1934)
- Outline for the study of dialectical materlialism [sic] and the life of man New York: New Workers School,(1935)
- Foundations of Marxism: study outline New York: New Workers School,(1936)
- Marxism and modern political thought New York: New Workers School,(1936)
- The CIO, Labor's New Challenge New York : Workers Age Publishing Association (1937)
- Rivera murals. Permanent exhibition New York: International Ladies' Garment Workers' UnionInternational Ladies' Garment Workers' UnionThe International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membership, and a key player in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s...
(1943) - Bureaucracy and democracy in labor unions New York: Great Island Conference (1947)
- The theology of Reinhold Niebuhr New York: Frontier Fellowship (1950)
- Judaism and Modern Man: An Interpretation of Jewish Religion New York, Farrar, Straus and Young (1951)
- Protestant, Catholic, Jew. An essay in American religious sociology Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday(1955)
- Jewish labor in the U.S.; its history and contributions to American life New York: Jewish Labor CommitteeJewish Labor CommitteeThe Jewish Labor Committee is an American secular Jewish organization dedicated to promoting labor union interests in Jewish communities, and Jewish interests within unions. The organization is headquartered in New York City, with local/regional offices in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago...
, Atran Center for Jewish Culture (1955) - The Writings Of Martin Buber New York, Meridian Books (1956) editor
- Four Existentialist Theologians, a Reader from the Works of Jacques MaritainJacques MaritainJacques Maritain was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised as a Protestant, he converted to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive St. Thomas Aquinas for modern times and is a prominent drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...
, Nicholas Berdyaev, Martin BuberMartin BuberMartin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
, and Paul TillichPaul TillichPaul Johannes Tillich was a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was one of the most influential Protestant theologians of the 20th century...
Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday (1958) - Community, State and Church: 3 essays by Karl BarthKarl BarthKarl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
(introduction) Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday (1960) - Athens and Jerusalem: confrontation and dialogue Durham : University of New HampshireUniversity of New HampshireThe University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
(1965) - Challenge to morality: a symposium (with others) Tallahassee? : Florida State UniversityFlorida State UniversityThe Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
? (1966) - Dimensions symposium: Human values in a technological society (with others) [New York] UAHC (1971)
- On academic freedom (with others) Washington, American Enterprise InstituteAmerican Enterprise InstituteThe American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
for Public Policy Research (AEI special analysis #17) (1971) - Martin Buber: personalist philosopher in an age of depersonalization West Hartford, Conn., Saint Joseph College (McAuley lecture #15) (1972)
- The state of the Churches in the U.S.A. 1973 as shown in their own official yearbooks: A study research Sun City, Arizona : Ecumenism Research Agency (1973)
- Faith Enacted As History: Essays in Biblical Theology Philadelphia: Westminster PressWestminster PressWestminster Press refers perhaps to one of these:* Westminster Press was a printing company in London run by Gerard Meynell, printer of the Imprint...
(1976) - From Marxism to Judaism: The Collected Essays of Will Herberg New York: M. WienerWienerWiener is German for Viennese, but may also refer to:* A German sausage named after Vienna * A sausage used in hot dogsWiener is the surname of:* Alexander S...
Pub (1989) edited by David Dalin - Jewish perspectives on Christianity: Leo Baeck, Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Will Herberg, and Abraham J. Heschel New York: CrossroadCrossroad Publishing CompanyThe Crossroad Publishing Company is a New York-based publishing house for books on spirituality, religion, and wellness. The company is the American branch of the global, 200-year old Herder family publishing group, with headquarters in Freiburg, Germany and Barcelona, Spain...
(1990)
Further reading
- Harry J. Ausmus, Will Herberg: A Bio-Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1986.
- Harry J. Ausmus, Will Herberg: From Right to Right. Chapel HillChapel Hill, North CarolinaChapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
: University of North Carolina PressUniversity of North Carolina PressThe University of North Carolina Press , founded in 1922, is a university press that is part of the University of North Carolina....
, 1987.