In this important new work, Martin Halliwell focuses on the tensions between the two dimensions of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought: his political role as a radical social critic and his conservative and largely private belief in the values of neo-orthodox Christianity. In order to better examine Niebuhr's philosophy, Halliwell positions him in a series of debates on political, religious, ethical, and cultural themes with other eminent intellectuals. In doing so, Halliwell reassesses the important contributions that Reinhold Niebuhr made to 20th century American culture.

Introduction: Niebuhr and American Intellectual Culture
Part I: The Intellectual Family: Pragmatism, Religion and Ethics, 1910s-1940s
Chapter 1: "Half-Truths Set Against Half-Truths": James and Niebuhr
Chapter 2: A Certain Blindness to Liberalism: Dewey and Niebuhr
Chapter 3: Crossing the Invisible Boundary: Tillich and Niebuhr
Chapter 4: "Soldiers in the Same Division": The Niebuhr Brothers
Part II: Wider Dialogues: Cultural, National and Political Identity, 1940s-1970s
Chapter 5: "Digging About in the Slime": Niebuhr and American Psychoanalysis
Chapter 6: The Myths and Dramas of History: Niebuhr and Postwar Culture
Chapter 7: "The Achilles' Heel of Democracy": Niebuhr and US Foreign Policy
Chapter 8: The New Face of Love: Niebuhr and the Civil Rights Movement
Conclusion: Niebuhr and the Search for Leadership