Germany and the Confessional Divide : Religious Tensions and Political Culture, 1871-1989

From German unification in 1871 through the early 1960s, confessional tensions between Catholics and Protestants were a source of deep division in German society. Engaging this period of historic strife, __Germany and the Confessional Divide__ focuses on three traumatic episodes: the Kulturkampf waged against the Catholic Church in the 1870s, the collapse of the Hohenzollern monarchy and state-supported Protestantism after World War I, and the Nazi persecution of the churches. It argues that memories of these traumatic experiences regularly reignited confessional tensions. Only as German society became increasingly secular did these memories fade and tensions ease. CONTENTS List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 The Kulturkampf and Catholic Identity Chapter 2 “Time to Close Ranks”: The Catholic Kulturfront during the Weimar Republic Chapter 3 The Revolution of 1918/19: A Traumatic Experience for German Protestantism Chapter 4 The Confessional Divide in Voting Behavior Chapter 5 The Fascist Origins of German Ecumenism Chapter 6 Conversion as a Confessional Irritant: Examples from the Third Reich Chapter 7 Imperfect Interconfessionalism: Women, Gender, and Sexuality in Early Christian Democracy Chapter 8 Importing Controversy: The Martin Luther Film of 1953 and Confessional Tensions Chapter 9 In the Presence of Absence: Transformations of the Confessional Divide in West Germany after the Holocaust Chapter 10 A Tense Triangle: The Protestant Church, the Catholic Church, and the SED State Chapter 11 A Minority between Confession and Politics: Catholicism in the Soviet Zone of Occupation and the GDR (1945–90) Chapter 12 The Churches and Changes in Missionary Work: Biconfessionalism and Developmental Aid to the “Third World” since the 1960s Chapter 13 Deconfessionalization after 1945: Protestants and Catholics, Jews and Muslims as Actors within the Religious Sphere of the Federal Republic of Germany Conclusion Closing Reflections Index "From German unification in 1871 through the early 1960s, confessional tensions between Catholics and Protestants were a source of deep division in German society. Engaging this period of historic strife, Germany and the Confessional Divide focuses on three traumatic episodes: the Kulturkampf waged against the Catholic Church in the 1870s, the collapse of the Hohenzollern monarchy and state-supported Protestantism after World War I, and the Nazi persecution of the churches. It argues that memories of these traumatic experiences regularly reignited confessional tensions. Only as German society became increasingly secular did these memories fade and tensions ease"-- Provided by publisher

From German unification in 1871 through the early 1960s, confessional tensions between Catholics and Protestants were a source of deep division in German society. Engaging this period of historic strife, Germany and the Confessional Divide focuses on three traumatic episodes: the Kulturkampf waged against the Catholic Church in the 1870s, the collapse of the Hohenzollern monarchy and state-supported Protestantism after World War I, and the Nazi persecution of the churches. It argues that memories of these traumatic experiences regularly reignited confessional tensions. Only as German society became increasingly secular did these memories fade and tensions ease.