H. Shelton Smith (1893–1987) was a scholar of Christianity and professor at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina.
Three years later, he was named Professor of Religious Education at Duke Divinity School, where he served from 1931 to 1963.
[2] Smith was known as a critic of liberal Christian trends that engaged in "a little deification of humanity.
Upon returning to the South in 1931, he initiated conversations with other religious leaders about his vision of an "interdenominational agency to deal with problems of social justice, racial relations .
In 1935 he convened about 40 religious leaders from 13 denominations for what became the founding meeting of the North Carolina Council of Churches.