Euro-Gott im starken Plural? Einige Fragestellungen für eine europäische Religionsgeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts

Abstract

Euro-God as a Beneficent Plurality? Some approaches for a history of European religion in the 20th century

Since the 1980s, general historians in the German-speaking parts of Europe have begun intensively to research the history of religion in the contemporary era. Earlier concepts such as «dechristianisation» and «secularisation» have been replaced by a new receptiveness for the formative influence of the manifold interpretations of the world and the search for life's meaning in this modern world. Astonishingly enough, this new approach to the history of religion has not led to debates about methodology. Approaches have been developed leading to a better understanding of the transformation in religion as it is affected by the specific modernity of 20th century Europe. How can historians describe the great flexibility of the symbolic languages of religion and the interplay of adaptability and formative power of religious institutions? Is there a specific pan-European development of deinstitutionalisation of religion? What role do the history of theological ideas and the theological disciplines in the history of 20th century religion play? How may the role of the Churches as the traditionally most important religious megainstitutions in European society be described? Which analytical means promise especially enlightening insights?