Reinhold Niebuhr was a protestant theologian born in 1892. He became known the world over as not just a theologian, but a philosopher, as his beliefs are held in high regard by the religious and atheists alike. It was his realist style of thinking that made him so appealing to so many people. He was a firm believer that it is naive for people to seek among humans a utopian society, but rather we should stride to gradually improve ourselves and our moral standing as a culture. People can not be forced to adopt a moral stance, they must gradually lend themselves to that stance by learning truth. Niebuhr has been cited by some of the greatest instruments of peace in the 20th century; Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. cited him as a major source of inspiration in his non-violent actions in civil rights. He managed to infiltrate popular secular culture, and was featured in such prestigious publications as Time Magazine.