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John Haynes Holmes

ジョン・ヘインズ・ホームズ

John Haynes Holmes

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1879-11-29 （Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.）
Died
1964-04-03 （Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.） age 84
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Unitarian
Residence History
Malden, Massachusetts → Dorchester, Massachusetts → New York City (Manhattan) → Cambridge (while at Harvard)

Career

Occupations
minister, pacifist, activist, author
Active Years
1904-1964
Affiliations
Community Church of New York, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP, co-founder)
Influenced By
Mahatma Gandhi, Stephen Samuel Wise
Influenced
American civil liberties and peace movements

Education

Harvard University
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Degree: BA
Period: 1898–1902
Year of Graduation: 1902
Country: United States
Harvard Divinity School
Divinity
Degree: MDiv
Period: 1902–1904
Year of Graduation: 1904
Country: United States
Called to his first church immediately after graduation

Awards

Gandhi Peace Award
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Is Death the End?

1915 religious / philosophical

A collection of essays reflecting on the existence after death and spiritual matters.

afterlifereligious philosophy

New Wars for Old

1916 political / anti-war

A critique of World War I and a defense of pacifism.

pacifismanti-war

Palestine To-Day and To-Morrow: A Gentile's Survey of Zionism

1929 political / religious

A gentile's overview and perspective on Zionism.

Zionisminterfaith dialogue

My Gandhi

1953 memoir / biography

A memoir detailing his meetings with Gandhi and Gandhi's influence on him.

nonviolencepersonal reminiscence

If This Be Treason

1935 play / political drama 145 pages

A play personifying peaceful impulses across sides of a conflict; had a brief Broadway run.

anti-warhuman empathy
Adaptations
  • [Stage (Broadway)] If This Be Treason (1935)

Bibliography

  • Is Death the End? (1915)
  • New Wars for Old (1916)
  • Palestine To-Day and To-Morrow: A Gentile's Survey of Zionism (1929)
  • A Sensible Man's View of Religion (1932)
  • Is Suicide Justifiable? (1934)
  • If This Be Treason (1935)
  • The Affirmation of Immortality (1947)
  • My Gandhi (1953)
  • I Speak for Myself (1959, autobiography)

Adaptations

  • Stage production of the play 'If This Be Treason' on Broadway (brief run)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
sermonic, ethically driven styleclear, argumentative essays and lectures
Recurring Motifs
peace and nonviolencereligious tolerancesocial justice

Legacy

John Haynes Holmes was a Unitarian minister known for his pacifism and advocacy for civil liberties. He helped found the NAACP and the ACLU and influenced peace and civil rights movements, promoting interfaith dialogue and nonviolence throughout his life.

Academic Societies

  • American Unitarian Association (associated)

Archives

  • Harvard Divinity School Library holdings (correspondence and phonograph records)
  • Private collection of papers at the U.S. Library of Congress (open to scholars)

In Popular Culture

  • In 1942 Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) published a cartoon mocking Holmes, which caused controversy.

Quotes

  • Therefore would I make it plain that, so long as I am your minister, this Church will answer no military summons.... But so long as I am priest, this altar shall be consecrated to human brotherhood, and before it shall be offered worship only to that one God and Father of us all.
    Source: Sermon 'A Statement to my People on the Eve of War' (April 3, 1917) (1917)

Trivia

  • He was involved in founding both the NAACP and the ACLU.
  • He publicly advocated pacifism during World War I and World War II, drawing opposition from within his denomination.
  • He was the subject of a controversial Dr. Seuss cartoon criticizing his pacifist stance.
  • Died in 1964 at his home on Park Avenue in New York.