From the closing decades of the eighteenth century, German theology has been a major intellectual force within modern western thought, closely connected to important developments in idealism, romanticism, historicism, phenomenology, and hermeneutics. Despite its influential legacy, however, no recent attempts have sought to offer an overview of its history and development. Oxford History of Modern German Theology, Vol. I: 1781-1848, the first of a three-volume series, provides the most comprehensive multi-authored overview of German theology from the period from 1781-1848. Kaplan and Vander Schel cover categories frequently omitted from earlier overviews of the time period, such as the place of Judaism in modern German society, race and religion, and the impact of social history in shaping theological debate. Rather than focusing on individual figures alone, Oxford History of Modern German Theology, Vol. I: 1781-1848 describes the narrative arc of the period by focusing on broader intellectual and cultural movements, ongoing debates, and significant events. It furthermore provides a historical introduction to each of the chronological subsections that divides the book. Moreover, unlike previous efforts to introduce this time period and geographical region, the volume offers chapters covering such previously neglected topics as religious orders, the influence of Romantic art, secularism, religious freedom, and important but overlooked scholarly initiatives such as the Corpus Reformatorum. Attention to such matters will make this volume an invaluable repository of scholarship and knowledge and an indispensable reference resource for decades to come.
Part 1: Background 1: Robert Kolb: The Reformation and the Emergence of Protestant Orthodoxy 2: Thomas Wallnig: Early Modern Catholic Theology in German-speaking Lands 3: Douglas Shantz: German Pietism 4: Eric Carlsson: The Protestant Enlightenment 5: John R. Betz: The Counter-Enlightenment and Erweckungsbewegung: From J. G. Hamann to the Münster Circle 6: Michael C. Legaspi: Beginnings of Historical Criticism 7: Paul Franks: Translation, Bildung, and Dialogue: Central Concepts of German-Jewish Religious Thought 1783-1848 Part 2: 1781-1806 8: Andreas Holzem: Historical Introduction: Political, Social, and Legal Changes (1781-1806) 9: Ian Hunter: The Early Theological Reception of Kant's Religious Philosophy 10: Myriam Bienenstock: The Pantheism Controversy in the 1780s 11: Daniel Whistler: Early German Romanticism and the Characteristics of Religion 12: Werner Busch (translated by Grant Kaplan and Kevin M. Vander Schel): Romantic Art and Theology 13: Rainald Becker: The Changing Place of Religious Orders, and its Role in Theological Development Part 3: 1806-1815 14: Ruth Jackson Ravenscroft: Historical Introduction: Theological Justifications of Nationalism and the Beginnings of 'German Christianity' (1806-15) 15: Benjamin Dahlke: Debates about the Academic Status of Theology and the Foundation of the University of Berlin 16: Liisa Steinby: Approaches to Myth and Mythology 17: Johannes Zachhuber: Theology and Early Historicism Part 4: 1815-1830 18: Richard Schaefer: Historical Introduction: Political Restoration and Its Effects on Theology 1815-30 19: Todd H. Weir: Confession, Secularism, and Dissent in the German Vormärz 20: Grant Kaplan: The Catholic Tübingen School in its First Generation 21: Paul Michael Kurtz: Rationalism and Biblical Interpretation: H.E.G. Paulus, K.G. Bretschneider, and W.M.L. de Wette 22: Andrew Dole: Schleiermacher's Glaubenslehre and its Immediate Reception 23: Kevin M. Vander Schel: Anti-Rationalist Developments: Supernaturalism and the German Religious Awakening 24: Justin Shaun Coyle: Catholic Rationalism: Georg Hermes and Anton Günther Part 5: 1830-1848 25: Jeffrey T. Zalar: Historical Introduction: The German-Speaking Lands in Restoration and Vormärz, 1815-48 26: Christian Danz: Hegel's Philosophy of Religion, Schelling's Philosophy of Revelation, and their Immediate Theological Reception 27: David Lincicum: Ferdinand Christian Baur and the Tübingen School 28: Annette G. Aubert: Mediating Theology 29: Klaus Unterburger: Church History and History of Doctrine 1830-1848 30: Michael Ledger-Lomas: Strauss and the Life of Jesus Controversy
Grant Kaplan works in the areas of systematic, fundamental, and historical theology. He is the author of Answering the Enlightenment: The Catholic Recovery of Historical Revelation (2006), René Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology (2016), and Faith and Reason through Christian History: A Theological Essay (2022). He received his Ph.D. from Boston College in 2002 and has worked at Saint Louis University since 2007. Kevin Vander Schel's research centers on modern Christian thought, political theology, and theological hermeneutics. He is the author of Embedded Grace: Christ, History, and the Reign of God in Schleiermacher's Dogmatics (2013), and co-editor of The Fragility of Consciousness: Faith, Reason, and the Human Good (2017) and Theology, History, and the Modern German University (2021). He received his Ph.D. from Boston College in 2012, and is currently Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Gonzaga University.
Reviews for The Oxford History of Modern German Theology, Volume 1: 1781-1848
This book is for scholars. As such it is a superb resource helping us to understand the intensity and power of German theological research in the first half of the nineteenth century. * Mark Mattes, Lutheran Quarterly *
