Christian realism

E480391

Christian ethical theory Christian political philosophy political theology theological perspective

Christian realism is a theological and ethical perspective, chiefly associated with Reinhold Niebuhr, that emphasizes human sinfulness, moral ambiguity, and the need for pragmatic, often restrained use of power in politics and society.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form	Occurrences
Christian_realism	1

Statements (55)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Christian ethical theory ⓘ Christian political philosophy ⓘ political theology ⓘ theological perspective ⓘ
aimsAt	approximate justice rather than perfection ⓘ
associatedWith	American Protestantism NERFINISHED ⓘ George Kennan NERFINISHED ⓘ H. Richard Niebuhr NERFINISHED ⓘ John C. Bennett NERFINISHED ⓘ Paul Ramsey NERFINISHED ⓘ Reinhold Niebuhr NERFINISHED ⓘ
basedOn	Augustinian anthropology NERFINISHED ⓘ Christian doctrine of sin ⓘ biblical view of human nature ⓘ
contrastsWith	Christian pacifism ⓘ liberal Christian idealism ⓘ utopian political projects ⓘ
developedIn	20th century ⓘ
developedInContextOf	Cold War politics NERFINISHED ⓘ World War II NERFINISHED ⓘ interwar period ⓘ
emphasizes	awareness of human fallibility ⓘ critique of pacifist absolutism ⓘ critique of utopianism ⓘ limits of moral idealism in politics ⓘ need for compromise in public life ⓘ pragmatic use of power ⓘ restraint in politics ⓘ tension between Christian ideals and political realities ⓘ
hasCoreTheme	human sinfulness ⓘ limits of human perfectibility ⓘ moral ambiguity ⓘ original sin ⓘ political responsibility ⓘ responsible use of power ⓘ tension between love and justice ⓘ tragic dimension of history ⓘ
holdsThat	collective entities can magnify sin ⓘ even well-intentioned actions are tainted by self-interest ⓘ
influenced	Christian just war thinking in the 20th century ⓘ Christian political ethics ⓘ Cold War foreign policy debates in the United States ⓘ public theology ⓘ
influencedBy	Augustine of Hippo NERFINISHED ⓘ Karl Barth NERFINISHED ⓘ Protestant neo-orthodoxy NERFINISHED ⓘ classical just war tradition ⓘ liberal democracy ⓘ realist international relations theory ⓘ
relatedConcept	Protestant social ethics ⓘ just war theory ⓘ political realism ⓘ
seesPoliticsAs	realm of competing interests and partial goods ⓘ
supports	balance of power as a check on human sin ⓘ limited use of force under moral constraints ⓘ

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Reinhold Niebuhr → notableIdea → Christian realism ⓘ

The Fiction Writer and His Country → associatedWith → Christian realism ⓘ

The Church and the Fiction Writer → philosophicalPerspective → Christian realism ⓘ

On Her Own Work → discussesConcept → Christian realism ⓘ

this entity surface form: Christian_realism