Helmut Richard Niebuhr (September 3, 1894 – July 5, 1962) is considered one of the most important
Christian theological ethicists in 20th century
America, most known for his 1951 book
Christ and Culture and his posthumously published book
The Responsible Self. The younger brother of theologian
Reinhold Niebuhr, Richard Niebuhr taught for several decades at the
Yale Divinity School. Both brothers were, in their day, important figures in the
neo-orthodox theological school within American Protestantism. His theology (together with that of his colleague at Yale,
Hans Wilhelm Frei) has been one of the main sources of
postliberal theology, sometimes called the "Yale school". He influenced such figures as
James Gustafson,
Stanley Hauerwas, and
Gordon Kaufman.