Harry Emerson Fosdick

Ordained as a Baptist minister, Harry Emerson Fosdick became one of the best-known Protestant voices in the United States. He studied at Colgate University and Union Theological Seminary, later taught practical theology at Union, and gained national attention for preaching that welcomed modern scholarship, open inquiry, and a compassionate approach to religion.

Fosdick became a central figure in the fundamentalist-modernist controversy of the 1920s, especially after his famous sermon Shall the Fundamentalists Win? challenged rigid religious dogmatism. Though Baptist by ordination, he went on to serve prominent New York congregations and became the founding minister of Riverside Church, where his preaching reached a wide audience in person, in print, and on radio.

He was also a prolific author whose books of sermons and devotional writing were read far beyond the pulpit. Remembered for combining moral seriousness with clarity and warmth, Fosdick spoke to readers who wanted faith to engage honestly with doubt, modern life, and the urgent social issues of their time.