Children of Light and the Children of Darkness

We are pleased to present this Trinity Forum Reading, featuring selections from Reinhold Niebuhr’s The Children of Light and The Children of Darkness with an introduction by Wilfred M. McClay, Frank Wolf, and Tony Hall.

Published in 1944 amid World War II and the fight against Facism, The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness contains Reinhold Niebuhr’s defense of democracy grounded in a Christian understanding of our sinful human nature. In this Reading, Niebuhr critiques an unquestioning optimism in “progress” while explaining how democracy, with its checks and balances that account for self-interest, makes justice possible. He argues that effectual politics and good leadership are possible only when we understand the limits in which we operate. Amid today’s  fractured political climate, Niebuhr’s defense of democracy continues to be relevant.