The Pluralization of Protestant Politics

Public Responsibility, Rearmament, and Division at the 1950s Kirchentage

Bibliographic Data

ID9645924
AuthorsBenjamin Pearson (0000-0002-0495-5870, Tusculum College, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume43
Issue2
Pages270-300
Publication date2010-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCentral European History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0008-9389 • E-ISSN: 1569-1616
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0008938910000038
OpenAlexW2094252202
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited24

In the aftermath of World War II, Christian leaders in Germany embraced the political ideology of Christian Democracy. Viewing Nazism as a form of materialism and atheism, which they blamed on the ongoing secularization and moral decay of German society, both Protestant and Catholic leaders argued that only the society-wide renewal of Christian faith and Christian values could provide a solid foundation for the future. Enjoying a privileged position in the eyes of the western Allies (particularly the Americans), the churches took on a leading role in the reconstruction of German society. And, working to overcome the postwar disillusionment of many of their members, church leaders urged their followers to take active, personal responsibility for political life in the new German states

Atheism · Democracy · Faith · German · Ideology · Materialism · Nazism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Protestantism · Secularization · Sociology · Theology · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · European history and politics · Law · Philosophy · Religion, Theology, History, Judaism, Christianity · Religious studies

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