The Niebuhr Legacy

The Serenity Prayer

Book Excerpt
Elisabeth Sifton is a senior editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux. She is also Reinhold Niebuhr's daughter. In her book, The Serenity Prayer: Faith and Politics in Times of Peace and War, Sifton blends personal recollection and theological reflection as she explores the historical and personal origins of the famous prayer.

Sifton Discusses the Serenity Prayer on National Public Radio
In 2005, the program Fresh Air featured a discussion about the origins of the prayer, its historical context, and the circumstances around its authorship. Listen here. 

Questions of Authorship
The New York Times examines the debate in July 2008.

A Serenity Prayer Debate
Fred R. Shapiro, author of the Yale Book of Quotations and eight other books, debates Sifton on the issue of the Serenity Prayer's authorship in Yale University's alumni magazine.