Randolph Crump Miller, a Divinity School professor who was a leading authority on Christian education, died of cancer on June 13, in Hamden, Connecticut.
Mr. Miller was the Horace Bushnell Professor Emeritus of Christian Nurture at the Divinity School, where he taught for 29 years.
A jazz enthusiast and expert, Professor Miller spoke widely on the theology of jazz, as well as on topics in theology and Christian education.
Brevard S. Childs, Sterling Professor of Divinity, recalls of his former colleague: "I first heard the name of Randolph Miller when I was a student in the 1940s at Princeton Seminary. His books on Christian education were widely used as our standard texts. Miller was regarded as one of the few who continued to wrestle seriously with the theological implications of his discipline for the church. ...
"When I arrived at Yale in 1958, the first lecture that I heard was one given to incoming students in an orientation session. Randy's topic was 'The Theology of Jazz.' It was a delightful evening, full of humor and wit. He played a host of early phonograph records from the Twenties, traced the history of American jazz, and introduced us to a largely unknown topic," said Childs, noting that Miller "was admired and loved by all. He will be greatly missed, but not forgotten."
From 1958 to 1978 Professor Miller was editor of the interfaith journal, Religious Education, published by the Religious Education Association. His books include "What We Can Believe," "Biblical Theology and Christian Education," "Christian Nurture and the Church," "Your Child's Religion: A Practical Guide for Parents," "The American Spirit in Theology," "This We Can Believe" and several others. His 1950 book, "The Clue to Christian Education," was highly influential in the field of religious instruction.
Born in 1910 in Fresno, California, Mr. Miller earned his B.A. from Pomona College in 1931 and his Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale in 1936. He studied at the Episcopal Theological School and was ordained in the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1935.
After teaching at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and serving as vicar and rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Albany, California, Professor Miller joined the Yale faculty in 1952, where he remained until his retirement in 1981.
Professor Miller was a member of the Episcopal Evangelical Fellowship and the Religious Education Association. He was a trustee of the periodicals The Churchman and the Anglican Theological Review, and served as a consultant in Christian education for the National Council of Protestant Episcopal Churches. He served as director of Christian education at Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven 1961-1971.
Professor Miller is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, of Hamden, Connecticut; daughters Barbara Miller and Phyllis Symonds, both of Weeki Wachee, Florida; Carol Rand, of Sharon, Connecticut; Rives Carroll, of Washington, D.C.; and Muriel Merenda, of Terryville, Connecticut; 17 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He is also survived by a sister, Nancy Stratford, of San Diego, California; and a brother, Richard Miller, of Los Angeles. He is predeceased by his son, Frank Fowlkes.
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