Danish philosopher and author Søren Kierkegaard was born on May 5, 1813 in Copenhagen. He was the youngest child of seven, born to parents of Jutlandish descent. He sometimes called himself a child of old age because his mother was 45 and his father 56 when he was born.

Kierkegaard was influenced early in life by the devoutly religious teachings of his father which concentrated on Christ's suffering. In 1830 Kierkegaard went to study theology, philosophy and literature at the University of Copenhagen.

Kierkegaard's final years were taken up with a sustained, outright attack on the Church of Denmark. He hoped to anger his contemporary Christians enough to inspire in them a stronger relationship to their faith. In 1850 he published Practice in Christianity, under the pseudonym Anti-Climacus. He felt this to be his most important book, and saw it as a reintroduction of Christianity. He felt that the removal of the offense of Christianity by the state church of Denmark made light of the message of Christianity. He also wrote articles for a journal called The Fatherland criticizing the state Lutheran church for claiming that all people born in Denmark are automatically Christian. These articles are compiled under the title Attack Upon "Christendom," While he was writing these articles , Kierkegaard was stricken with a spinal disease. He died within a month of his diagnosis on November 11, 1855.