John Lewis

John Lewis (1 February 1889 – 12 February 1976) was a British Unitarian minister and Marxist philosopher and author of many works on philosophy, anthropology, and religion. Lewis's father, a successful builder and architect, came from a Welsh farming family, and was a very devout Methodist. Young Lewis's social and political views clashed with those of his father. Their quarrels eventually led to his father disinheriting him. Education and religious work Lewis was born on 1 February 1889. He attended Dulwich College and University College London, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree. Having been raised a Methodist, he soon left that church to become a Congregationalist. He studied for the ministry at Cambridge, and in 1916 was appointed to a Presbyterian church in Gravesend, Kent; in 1924, he moved to a church in Birmingham. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in philosophy from the University of Birmingham, specialising in the philosophy of Karl Marx, and becoming a Marxist himself. By 1929, his left-wing views were too strong for the church he was in and he moved to Ipswich as a Unitarian minister. Here, his leftist political sermons attracted a large youth following, but upset a group of older, more conservative members. Their complaints led Lewis to offer his resignation, to be put to a vote of the membership. In a packed and charged meeting, he received the support of the majority of church members.