Will Herberg (1906-1977), Jewish theologian, social thinker, and biblical exegete, represented an independent strand in American Jewish leadership. While working from the standpoint of a Conservative Jew, he interacted with other Americans of many faiths, reflecting on the cultural and social conditions which challenged all those who took religion seriously.

Herberg was born August 4, 1906 (some sources say 1909), to Russian immigrant parents in New York City where he grew up and was educated. His father died when he was ten years old, leaving him to be educated by a mother who believed strongly in self-taught learning. He excelled in high school, graduating at 16, and from there entered Columbia University where in 1928 he earned both an A.B. and an M.A. degree, receiving the Ph.D. in 1932.

From the age of 17 he had been a leading organizer of the Young Workers League, being attracted to Marxism by its utopian...