The Politics of Europeanism : "God" in Ernst Troeltsch's War and Post-War Writings
(2016) In Zeitschrift für Neuere Theologiegeschichte / Journal for the History of Modern Theology 22(2). p.231-249- Abstract
- For theologians such as Karl Barth the support for Germany’s militaristic ambitions and actions voiced in the manifesto "An die Kulturwelt", published in 1914, was a consequence of the historicization of theology. Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923), whose interdisciplinary thinking revolved around the significance of history for theology, was labeled the theologian of historicism. Although he had not signed the manifesto, it continues to throw a smokescreen over Troeltsch’s theology. Examining a selection of both his war writings and his post-war writings, I argue that Troeltsch conceptualized a political theology which led him to turn from a clash of cultures to a conversation of cultures. Troeltsch’s historicization of the concept of God... (More)
- For theologians such as Karl Barth the support for Germany’s militaristic ambitions and actions voiced in the manifesto "An die Kulturwelt", published in 1914, was a consequence of the historicization of theology. Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923), whose interdisciplinary thinking revolved around the significance of history for theology, was labeled the theologian of historicism. Although he had not signed the manifesto, it continues to throw a smokescreen over Troeltsch’s theology. Examining a selection of both his war writings and his post-war writings, I argue that Troeltsch conceptualized a political theology which led him to turn from a clash of cultures to a conversation of cultures. Troeltsch’s historicization of the concept of God allowed him to resist cultural relativism as well as cultural absolutism. Culminating in the concept of "Europeanism (Europäismus)", Troeltsch’s political theology is instructive for a variety of intra- and inter-cultural conversations in Europe today. But in order to unlock its potential, the smokescreen which the manifesto has thrown over Troeltsch’s theology needs to be lifted. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/b20e6341-27fa-4a3b-bc70-98032e82b5ff
- author
- Schmiedel, Ulrich LU
- publishing date
- 2016
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Zeitschrift für Neuere Theologiegeschichte / Journal for the History of Modern Theology
- volume
- 22
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 231 - 249
- publisher
- De Gruyter
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:84962157963
- ISSN
- 1612-9776
- DOI
- 10.1515/znth-2016-0004
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- b20e6341-27fa-4a3b-bc70-98032e82b5ff
- date added to LUP
- 2024-02-24 17:49:07
- date last changed
- 2024-05-03 04:02:18
@article{b20e6341-27fa-4a3b-bc70-98032e82b5ff,
abstract = {{For theologians such as Karl Barth the support for Germany’s militaristic ambitions and actions voiced in the manifesto "An die Kulturwelt", published in 1914, was a consequence of the historicization of theology. Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923), whose interdisciplinary thinking revolved around the significance of history for theology, was labeled the theologian of historicism. Although he had not signed the manifesto, it continues to throw a smokescreen over Troeltsch’s theology. Examining a selection of both his war writings and his post-war writings, I argue that Troeltsch conceptualized a political theology which led him to turn from a clash of cultures to a conversation of cultures. Troeltsch’s historicization of the concept of God allowed him to resist cultural relativism as well as cultural absolutism. Culminating in the concept of "Europeanism (Europäismus)", Troeltsch’s political theology is instructive for a variety of intra- and inter-cultural conversations in Europe today. But in order to unlock its potential, the smokescreen which the manifesto has thrown over Troeltsch’s theology needs to be lifted.}},
author = {{Schmiedel, Ulrich}},
issn = {{1612-9776}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{231--249}},
publisher = {{De Gruyter}},
series = {{Zeitschrift für Neuere Theologiegeschichte / Journal for the History of Modern Theology}},
title = {{The Politics of Europeanism : "God" in Ernst Troeltsch's War and Post-War Writings}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/znth-2016-0004}},
doi = {{10.1515/znth-2016-0004}},
volume = {{22}},
year = {{2016}},
}