Advanced Search Filters

In addition to or instead of a keyword search, use one or more of the following filters when you search.

Skip to main content
Bookmark this Item

"The Ethical Problems of Neutrality: A Columbus Day Sermon of Rediscovering America"

Fosdick Sermon
US Holocaust Memorial Museum

In the American Christian tradition, sermons are the literary style used for interpretation of biblical texts and are typically read at Sunday worship services. As they craft their sermons, pastors and priests aim to make them relevant to parishioners' lives. These writings often include guidelines for aligning one's actions with one's religious values. They also address the pressing social and political concerns of the day. 

In the fall of 1939, as Americans were debating entry into another European war, a well-known Baptist minister named Harry Emerson Fosdick1 delivered the featured sermon at Riverside Church in New York City.2  Fosdick had developed a reputation as a pacifist—perhaps due to his regrets about supporting US participation in the World War I. The sermon, titled "The Ethical Problems of Neutrality," cautioned those on both sides of the debate not to base their views on popular opinion. Fosdick also argued that inaction in the face of horrific violence must be critically evaluated and rooted in morality. Speaking of "many in the American majority," he notes that "their reasons for staying out are too superficial, too selfish, not deeply grounded, not ethically defensible enough."

For Fosdick, like many other leading Christian voices during the early years of the war, Christianity formed an important part of American national identity and politics. It is notable that, while pastors and priests read sermons only once—for a particular congregation on a particular Sunday—this reading received a print release just three months later. What might have motivated its publication?

Harry Emerson Fosdick was born in 1878 in New York. First ordained as a Baptist minister, he served as a military chaplain during the First World War. Fosdick delivered a sermon in 1933 titled "The Unknown Soldier," which drew national attention for its stance on pacifism and raised Fosdick’s profile as a leading Christian moral and ethical voice on issues of war and peace. In 1933, Fosdick was also one of the most outspoken US preachers about the Nazi persecution of Jews. For more on Fosdick, see Robert Moats Miller, Henry Emerson Fosdick: Preacher, Pastor, Prophet (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985). 

In 1930, Fosdick opened an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Built with financial support from the industrialist John D. Rockefeller, who was a member of the congregation, Riverside Church was located near both a Christian and a Jewish theological seminary.

Close Window Expand Source Viewer

This browser does not support PDFs. Please download the PDF to view it: .

Archival Information for This Item

Source (Credit)
US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Accession Number 2004.220.1
Date Created
October 15, 1939
Author / Creator
Harry Emerson Fosdick
Language(s)
English
Location
New York, USA
Document Type Religious Text
How to Cite Museum Materials

Thank You for Supporting Our Work

We would like to thank The Alexander Grass Foundation for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for Experiencing History. View the list of all donors and contributors.

Feedback

Learn more about sources for your classroom