Tillich and Popular Culture
Tillich and Civil Rights: The Tillich-King
Correspondence
 In light of the fact that the “Paul Tillich Resources”
website has been, and is being, generated by scholars
within the Boston University community, it is worthwhile
to explore the contact that Paul Tillich had with
University members of the past. One such case is clearly
worth investigating, and that is the case of the
communications that occurred between Paul Tillich and
Martin Luther King, Jr. As a doctoral candidate at
Boston University, Martin Luther King decided to write
his dissertation on the theology of two prominent
philosophical theologians of the time: Paul Tillich and
Henry Nelson Wieman. King’s stated purpose was to place
Tillich and Wieman’s conceptions of God into
conversation. He titled the dissertation, “A Comparison
of the Conception of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich
and Henry Nelson Wieman.”[1]
King formally launched his dissertation project in the
spring of 1954. At this time, Tillich, age 68, was
transitioning from his position as Professor of
Philosophical Theology at Union Theological Seminary to
his new post as University Professor at Harvard. This
new position provided Tillich with the opportunity to
lecture on a variety of topics in multiple academic
departments.
King wrote a series of letters
regarding his dissertation. Two letters are exchanged
between he and his former advisor George W. Davis of
Crozer Theological Seminary, and four letters are direct
communications between he and Tillich. On December 1,
1953 King shared the working title of his dissertation,
which remained unaltered, with Davis and commented, “I
am finding the study quite fascinating. If there are no
basic interruptions, I hope to complete it by the end of
the coming summer.”[2]
Six days later, Davis responded to King’s letter with
jubilation. Commenting on King’s topical selection,
Davis proclaimed, “You have chosen an excellent
dissertation topic. It presents striking contrasts in
method and content and I think you can do a good piece
of work with it.”[3]
Davis also recommended an article from Theology Today
for King to investigate that engaged Tillich’s view of
the historical Jesus and the Christian faith. Remarking
on the article, Davis stated, “The reflections on the
approach and conclusions of Tillich seem to me to be
very important.”[4]
In 1953, King wrote Tillich
inquiring into the viability of his research project.
Tillich received the letter while traveling in Europe.
Tillich, as noted above, was transitioning between Union
and Harvard at the time of the letter’s arrival. In
response, Tillich informed King that he did not know of
any published material on this topic, and he encouraged
King to contact John Dillenburger of Columbia University
to confirm this fact. Furthermore, he prompted King to
contact Union in order to procure unpublished lecture
materials on his Systematic Theology. In the
postscript Tillich declared, “I am very much interested
in your subject.”[5]
In October of 1954 King wrote a second letter to Tillich
politely requesting an interview and a chance to discuss
his dissertation in person.[6]
King’s letter reached Tillich while he was in Scotland
delivering Gifford Lectures on his Systematic
Theology. Since Tillich did not intend to arrive at
Harvard until the fall of 1955, he was unable to meet
with King in Boston. Writing from Aberdeen, Scotland on
November 3, 1954, Tillich acknowledge (in stilted
English) that he would welcome a meeting with King, but
could only do so in January (1955) in Chicago or at
Union Theological Seminary between February and June,
1955.[vii]
It appears that the personal interview never
materialized.
What is striking about these terse
communications between Tillich and King is Tillich’s
concern for King. During this period of his life,
Tillich was exceptionally busy with travels and
lectures, yet he still found the time to communicate
with a doctoral student whom he was not advising. Not
only was he willing to interact with King via mail and a
private meeting, but he was also willing to allow access
to his unpublished materials. Tillich’s behavior in this
situation is laudable, and illustrates the gravity with
which he approached his responsibilities as a scholar,
teacher, and human being.
King submitted his doctoral
dissertation to Boston University on April 15, 1955.
King’s dissertation was approved in May 1955, and, thus,
Boston University granted his doctorate in philosophy.
As later historical research has discovered, King’s
dissertation is plagued with plagiarism difficulties;
however, this unfortunate finding does not bear on the
communication between Martin Luther King and Paul
Tillich.
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