The Serenity Prayer is most commonly credited to the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, who is believed to have composed it in the early 1930s.

Quick Scoop: Who Wrote the Serenity Prayer?

Niebuhr was a German-American Protestant theologian and Christian ethicist, active in the mid‑20th century and influential in both religious and public life.

Evidence from diaries and later publications suggests he first used a version of the prayer around 1932, and it appeared in sermons and printed prayer collections during the 1940s.

Over time, the prayer was widely adopted, especially by Alcoholics Anonymous during or shortly after World War II, which propelled it into global awareness.

Because it spread informally—on cards, in newspapers, and in meetings—it was often misattributed to figures like St. Francis of Assisi or ancient philosophers.

Some researchers have argued that similar phrases and structures appeared in print before Niebuhr’s documented use, suggesting he may have been influenced by earlier, lesser‑known sources.

Even so, the scholarly consensus today is that Reinhold Niebuhr is the primary and most historically supportable author of the Serenity Prayer as we know it.

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