Rev. William Sloane Coffin, a former Yale University chaplain and passionate social crusader who rallied protesters against the Vietnam War and challenged segregation laws in the South, died on Wednesday. He was 81.
Coffin, who had suffered from chronic heart failure after a series of strokes, died at his home in Strafford, Vermont, a Yale University spokeswoman said.
Coffin, whose peaceful protests, fiery speeches and half-century of writing often melded Christian spirit with social justice to address the perils of militarism and U.S. foreign policy, attained popular immortality as “Reverend Sloan” in Gary Trudeau’s Doonesbury comic strip.