Shane Claiborne (born July 11, 1975) is an American

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

and founder, an author and organizational leader. He is one of the founders of the non-profit organization, The Simple Way, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania, cofounder of the Red-Letter Christians, and has been described as a founder, as well, of the New Monastic movement. Moreover, Claiborne is referred to in the press as an activist, given his advocacy for

nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

and service to the poor. Among other writings, he is the author of the book, '' The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical'' (2006).

Early life and education

Claiborne was born July 11, 1975, and grew up in

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The Great Indian Warpath (which was used to build the route U.S. Route 411, US-411) was long ...

. His father, who was a Vietnam War veteran, died when Shane was 9 years old. During his childhood, he attended a

Methodist church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. After being invited to a

Pentecostal church Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

by high school friends, he became a Christian and was baptized. He studied

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and youth ministry at Eastern University and obtained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1997. During his studies, Claiborne worked alongside

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

during a 10-week term in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. He has written about how his work with Mother Teresa impacted him and made him realize the need to support a

consistent life ethic The consistent life ethic (CLE), also known as the consistent ethic of life or whole life ethic, is an ideology that opposes abortion, capital punishment, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. Adherents oppose war, or at the very least unjust war; so ...

, to protect all human life from conception to natural death. He spent three weeks in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

with the Iraq Peace Team (IPT), a project of Voices in the Wilderness and Christian Peacemaker Teams. He was witness to the military bombardment of Baghdad as well as the militarized areas between Baghdad and

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

. As a member of IPT, Claiborne took daily trips to sites where there had been bombings, visited hospitals and families, and attended worship services during the war.

Career

After his studies, he reports in interview that he served at

Willow Creek Community Church Willow Creek Community Church is an Evangelical nondenominational multisite megachurch based in the northwestern Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois. It was founded on October 12, 1975 by Dave Holmbo and Bill Hybels, who was its longtim ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He went on to found The Simple Way—"a small organization supporting neighbors in building a neighborhood where... all belong and thrive"—in 1998, with Joe Strife, Jamie Moffet, Brooke Sexton, and Michelle and Michael Brix, fellow graduates of Eastern University, in Kensington, Philadelphia. He is a board member for the nationwide Christian Community Development Association. In 2006, he published '' The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical'', a plea for Christian voluntary simplicity and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

. With Tony Campolo, he founded Red-Letter Christians in 2007, aiming to bring together evangelicals who believe in the importance of insisting on issues of

mentioned by

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, that name deriving from a convention of printing the words of Jesus in red ink in some

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

editions. On June 20, 2007, a seven-alarm fire at the abandoned warehouse across the street destroyed The Simple Way Community Center where Claiborne lived. He lost all of his possessions in the fire. The Simple Way immediately set up funds to accept donations to help those who lost their homes in the fire. In June 2008, with Chris Haw, he visited churches and community centers in cities across the United States in a refurbished used vegetable oil fuel school bus, labeled "Jesus for President", to give talks on Christian

. In September, they released the book '' Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals''. In 2008, he was featured in the documentary '' The Ordinary Radicals''. He co-directed the three volume Another World is Possible DVD series. Claiborne wrote the foreword to Ben Lowe's 2009 book ''Green Revolution: Coming Together to Care for Creation''. In 2011 he has appeared as both a guest and co-host of the TV show Red-Letter Christians with Tony Campolo. That year also, he declared his unwillingness to pay taxes to fund U.S. military activity. He withheld a portion of his income taxes meant to correspond to the percentage of the federal budget spent on the military, donating that money instead to charity. He wrote a public letter to the Internal Revenue Service to explain his decision. On January 26, 2016, he released the book ''Executing Grace - How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It's Killing Us''. It makes a case for the abolition of the death penalty through social and spiritual arguments. In 2023, he published the book ''Rethinking Life: Embracing the Sacredness of Every Person'', a book that calls for extending the Christian definition of the "

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the lega ...

" movement to issues other than the fight against abortion, such as

gun violence Gun-related violence is violence against a person committed with the use of a firearm to inflict a gunshot wound. Gun violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable ...

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

, the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

and openness to

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

Published works

*''Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence'', with Michael Martin (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2019) *''Executing Grace - How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It's Killing Us'' (HarperCollins, 2016) *''The Irresistible Revolution - Updated and Expanded 10th Anniversary Edition'' (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016) *''Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals'', with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010) *"What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?" (''

Esquire Magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under the guidance of ...

'', November 18, 2009) *''Follow Me To Freedom: Leading and Following as an Ordinary Radical'', with John Perkins (Regal Books, 2009) *'' Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals'', with Chris Haw (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008) *''Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals'', with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove (InterVarsity, 2008) *'' The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical'' (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) *''Iraq Journal 2003'' (Doulos Christou, 2006)

Awards and recognition

In 2010, Claiborne received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from Eastern University.

Personal life

As of this January 2020, Claiborne was stating to reporters that he was a member of an

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

church. Claiborne married Katie Jo Brotherton on May 7, 2011.

References

External links

Claiborne's official page with Tony Campolo
at the Red Letter Christians
The Simple Way organization's official website

The Ordinary Radicals official website

The Another World is Possible DVD series

Shane Claiborne's sermon on radical discipleship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claiborne, Shane 1975 births Living people 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century evangelicals American Christian pacifists American Evangelical writers American male non-fiction writers American religious writers American tax resisters Christian radicals Christianity and environmentalism Eastern University (United States) alumni People from Tennessee Political activists from Pennsylvania Simple living advocates Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Writers from Philadelphia