Henry A. Atkinson

General Secretary of the Church Peace Union (Carnegie Council), 1918-1955

Rev. Henry A. Atkinson was general secretary of the Church Peace Union (now Carnegie Council) from 1918-1955.

Atkinson was an academic, minister, author, and peace activist. He spent much time in Europe on behalf of the CPU and in the 1920s he visited India, China, and Japan to survey religions in Asia.

Atkinson served on the boards of numerous organizations that worked to promote the rights of religious minorities, and denounced the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany early on in the 1930s. Following World War II, he was a strong advocate for, and subsequently a supporter of, the state of Israel.

Featured Work

War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco Conference, 1945 CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/33458298163/in/album-72157616945763028/">United Nations</a>

JAN 5, 1970 Article

First-hand Report from the San Francisco Conference, Where the UN Charter was Signed

"The most important conference in our generation began its work here in San Francisco today. A feeling of deep solemnity brooded over the 4,000 people packed ...

Pearl Harbor, 1941. <a href="http://bit.ly/1tZ16dX">U.S. National Archives & Records</a>

JAN 5, 1970 Article

The Churches, The War and The Peace

This statement was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Church Peace Union (now Carnegie Council) on January 15, 1942. It was also published in the World ...

Mahatma Gandhi spinning yarn, in the late 1920s. Public Domain via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi#/media/File:Gandhi_spinning.jpg">Wikipedia</a>

JAN 5, 1970 Article

Visiting Mahatma Gandhi, 1929

In 1928-29, Henry Atkinson, president of the Church Peace Union (now Carnegie Council) took a five-month trip through Asia to meet with religious leaders and ...