J. Hutton Hynd
From Philosopedia
Hynd, J. Hutton (Died 1970)
Born and raised in Scotland, Hynd received a degree in philosophy from the University of Perth and later studied engineering at the University of Glasgow. In World War I he served as a mechanic in the Royal Air Force.
After studying at Edinburgh's Congregational College and Germany's Merburg University, Hynd was ordained a minister in the Congregational Church of Scotland. He came to the U.S. after assisting Stanton Coit for four years in London's Ethical Church.
He headed the Ethical Culture Society of St. Louis from 1933 to 1950. Hynd's ability to synthesize the arts and the sciences inspired members of the St. Louis Society. His platforms, which were influenced by Coit's reverential style and creative use of ceremony, offered ongoing education in history, literature, philosophy, and comparative religion. In the Sunday School, he backed the teaching of "the three R's" in religious education: Reason, Reverence and Responsibility. The overriding theme of his oratory was that authentic religious values are those that are immediately apprehended - not those that rest on belief in revelation or cultural mythology.
Hynd was President of the American Humanist Association from 1947 to 1948.
