Seward Hiltner

Seward Hiltner (November 26, 1909 – November 19, 1984) was an American pastoral theologian who played a key role in integrating theology with the behavioral sciences. He taught for many years at both the University of Chicago Divinity School and Princeton Theological Seminary.

Early life and education

Born on November 26, 1909 in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, Seward Hiltner received a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1931 from Lafayette College and a doctorate in theological ethics in 1952 from the University of Chicago.

Career and ministry

Ordained in 1935 as a minister in the United Presbyterian Church of North America, Hiltner served from 1935-1938 as the executive secretary of the Council for the Clinical Training of Theological Students. From 1938-1950 he was the executive secretary of the Federal Council of Churches. In 1950, he joined the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he helped establish a pioneering doctoral program in Religion and Personality, incorporating theology, psychology, sociology, and medical sciences. Under his leadership, the field of pastoral theology gained academic recognition and expanded globally.

Hiltner joined the faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1961, and retired in 1980.

During his career Hiltner also taught at Yale Divinity School, Union Theological Seminary, at the Menninger School of Psychiatry, and at the University of Utrecht.

Hiltner authored twelve books and over 500 articles, shaping the modern disciplines of pastoral care and pastoral counseling.

Impact

Hiltner was instrumental in redefining practical theology as a theological discipline grounded in the practice of ministry, rather than merely a set of ministerial techniques. He developed the perspectival method, which approached ministry through three lenses: communication, organization, and shepherding. He associated the shepherding perspective specifically with pastoral theology, emphasizing care within the parish context.

Hiltner's influential book Preface to Pastoral Theology traced the historical roots of the "cure of souls" and drew on case-study methods inspired by 19th-century pastor Ichabod Spencer. Although his work contributed to the rise of pastoral counseling centers, Hiltner maintained that pastoral care should remain rooted in congregational ministry. His collaboration with Rev. Dr. Lowell Colston in The Context of Pastoral Care reinforced this view by contrasting counseling within a community setting with care offered in clinical contexts.

Personal life and death

Hiltner was married to Helen Margaret Johansen, and had two children. He died in Princeton, New Jersey on November 19, 1984.

Selected publications

• Religion and Health. New York: Macmillan, 1943.
• Pastoral Counseling. New York: Abington Press, 1949.
• Self-Understanding: Through Psychology and Religion. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1951.
• The Counselor in Counseling. New York: Abington Press, 1952.
• Sex Ethics and the Kinsey Reports. New York: Association Press, 1953.
• Sex and the Christian Life. New York: Association Press, 1957.
• Preface to Pastoral Theology. New York: Abington Press, 1958.
• The Christian Shepherd: Some Aspects of Pastoral Care. New York: Abington Press, 1959.
• The Context of Pastoral Counseling. (with Lowell Colston). New York: Abington Press, 1961.
• Ferment in the Ministry. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1969
• Theological Dynamics. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1972.

Further reading

• Oglesby, Jr., William B., ed. (1969). The New Shape of Pastoral Theology: Essays in Honor of Seward Hiltner. Nashville: Abingdon Press. ISBN 9780687278794.