Abstract
Henrik Scharling (1836-1920) was a conservative, highly cultivated Danish theologian, novelist, and historian from a prominent family of intellectuals. His major work, 'Menneskehed og Christendom' (1895) in two volumes, presented a philosophy of universal history in the tradition of Giovanni Battista Vico, Johann Herder, and G. W. F. Hegel, colored by the existential individualism of Soren Kierkegaard. Scharling described his approach as subjective insofar as it was based on his personal experience and beliefs, as he asserted anyone's worldview must be. He saw religion (for him, Christianity) as the innermost center of existence for all people and emphasized that all humans share a common descent and fundamental needs.