This placed him not within the camp of evangelicalism, but that of neo-orthodoxy, particularly the part of that school influenced by the Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth, who made a rare compliment to Stringfellow on his only visit to the US.

These conditions were, he felt, symptomatic of the twin errors of acculturated religious liberalism and authoritarian dogmatism, two options American Christians usually chose from in order to achieve the same goal: domesticating the Gospel and thus blunting its transformative impact on both individuals and the state.

[6] He dealt with both every day in Harlem as he represented victimized tenants, accused persons who would otherwise have inadequate counsel in the courts, and impoverished African Americans who were largely excluded from public services like hospitals and government offices.

[10] Stringfellow's foremost contribution to theological thought is to see in "images, ideologies, and institutions" the primary contemporary manifestations of the demonic powers and principalities often mentioned in the Bible.

This outlook made him categorically suspicious of activities of governments, corporations, and other organizations, including the institutional churches, a viewpoint that placed him at odds with the nearly-ubiquitous "progressive" sentiments of the mid-20th century.

Recent treatments of his body of work include those by theologian Walter Wink,[11] Bill Wylie-Kellermann[12][13] and Sharon Delgado,[14] all ordained United Methodist ministers.

He has also influenced later Roman Catholics, including John Dear and journalist Nathan Schneider,[15][16] as well as evangelical social activists, Jim Wallis[17] and Shane Claiborne,[18] and biblical scholar, Wes Howard Brook.

"[20] He never publicly identified himself as a homosexual, but wrote and spoke on the topic, always denouncing the idolatry of both homophobia (as it is now called) in churches and the "ostentation" of gay culture, which he believed too often encouraged assuaging loneliness with lust and promiscuity.

[23] The Office of the Chaplain at Bates Colleges gives these awards to individuals who they find have "courageous and sustained commitment to redressing the systemic, root causes of violence and social injustice."