The Inner Restoration: Protestants Fighting for the Unity of Truth, 1930–1960

Abstract

This study demonstrates that a Protestant system of thought that I term Protestant Idealism shaped three historic universities deep into the twentieth century. Educators at Harvard, Princeton, and Yale infused core curricula, humanities courses, honors programs, admissions, and selectivity with a Protestant Idealist philosophy. Further, decisions about what knowledge counts as good were made with Protestant Idealism—and an elite Protestant leadership class—in mind. Based on thirty separate archival collections, the study tracks classicists, English literary critics, art historians, and religiously oriented philosophers and historians who were engaged in a quest for the unity of all truth—divine and secular. Humanists such as philosopher Theodore M. Greene (Princeton), classicist John Finley (Harvard), and philosopher Charles Hendel (Yale) resisted secularization and championed Protestant faith and modern knowledge as unified in a single system of thought. Even college presidents who seemingly led the process of secularization defended the unity of faith and knowledge. This study brings James B. Conant’s religiosity to life. The Harvard president, known as a propagator of science and research, also believed that Harvard had what he called an otherworldly mission. Using the archives of the Committee on General Education in a Free Society, the study offers a hidden history of Harvard’s famed post–World War II document, popularly known as the “Harvard Redbook” for its colorful cover. The Harvard Redbook arguably outlined the general education requirements that many colleges and universities, and many high schools, still follow today. I am calling the combined efforts of these humanists and leaders an Inner Restoration: an effort to defend and extend Protestant Idealism as the font of all civilization. The Inner Restoration was a messy affair; it intersected both with the world crisis of democracy and the growing recognition of human and religious diversity. For this reason, I also explore the chaos and battles among Protestant leaders who disagreed on what Protestant Idealism entailed in the modern world. Far from being unified, the Inner Restoration as a movement was rife with tension and factionalism.