ABSTRACT
Henrik Nicolai Clausen (1793-1877) was, when Kierkegaard encountered him as a student, Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Copenhagen and also a significant political figure. In both spheres, he was a leading champion of liberal rationalism. Clausen taught Kierkegaard at a crucial stage in his development. It was through his university teachers that Kierkegaard met the latest thinking in biblical studies, church history, and systematic theology in the 1830s. Clausen was acknowledged as the most intellectually impressive member of the faculty. His influence on Kierkegaard is hard to trace, however. Direct references to Clausen in Kierkegaard’s writings are few and at times dismissive. Yet, although he quickly repudiated Clausen’s liberalism and rationalism, Clausen’s lectures and writings on Schleiermacher, critical New Testament studies, and the development of biblical hermeneutics in the patristic period were an important element in Kierkegaard’s education which he drew upon throughout his authorship.
