Preston Bradley

Preston Bradley (August 18, 1888 – June 1, 1983) was an American clergyman, author, and lecturer. As a follower of the liberal Henry George, he was addressed social justice, poverty, and civic matters in his preaching. He was the founder and pastor of the Peoples Church in the Uptown Neighborhood of Chicago.

Early life and religious affiliations Bradley was born and raised in Linden, Michigan, in a conservative Christian home. He attended Alma College and a Flint, Michigan law school. He worked as a weekend pastor while a student. In 1911, he moved to Chicago to attend the conservative Moody Bible Institute. After being ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1912, he left the church saying, "I am not orthodox about anything. I am thoroughly, completely, adequately, gloriously and triumphantly a heretic." He rejected Christian orthodoxy and became a Christian Unitarian. From 1912 until the founding of the People's Church in 1922, Bradley conducted Sunday services at a number of Chicago theaters. He based his ministry on the creed of "the Good, the True and the Beautiful" and affiliating with the Unitarian Conference. In 1926, the Church moved into its home at 941 W. Lawrence. Bradley built the Church into a major Chicago institution with four thousand members. His radio program reached millions of listeners. Bradley retired from the church in 1968, but continued to give sermons and radio programs until 1976.

Writer Irna Phillips, a lifelong Chicago resident, credited Bradley's radio sermons with inspiring her creation of the soap opera Guiding Light, which ran on radio and then on television for a total of 72 years.

Preston Bradley Hall, in the Chicago Cultural Center, is named for him.

Positions Some of his preaching "defied obscenity laws," which made him unpopular. He took anti-fascist and pro-civil rights stands that further impacted his popularity.