Religion: Fosdick's Last Year

When he was a fuzzy-haired sophomore at Colgate, Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote to his parents: "I am throwing over my old idea of the universe. I am building another—and leaving God out." Something went wrong with that creation—but Fosdick never lost his dislike of "old ideas" or his fondness for asking "Why?" These' qualities, backed by a quick mind and a gift for forceful expression, made "Fuzzy" Fosdick one of the most influential Protestants in the U.S. and the foremost popularizer of religious liberalism. Last week, after 41 years of service to the...