FOR 1765:  Protestantism in the Ethical Controversies of the West German Federal Republic 1949-1989

• Subject Area: Humanities ; Social and Behavioural Sciences
• Term: from 2013 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 200984086

The Research Unit, located in Göttingen and Munich, began its work in June 2013. Its focus is the influence exerted on political key decisions during the Federal Republic’s "first" period, 1945 to 1990. Amongst others, the Research Unit looks into public disputes about rearmament, economic system and welfare state policies, conceptions of marriage and family as well as questions of ecology and peace. How influential was Protestantism in these controversies? And how did these controversies in turn shape the form and self-concept of Protestantism itself? So far, the Research Unit’s research topic of a comprehensive analysis of Protestantism in the ethical controversies of the West German Federal Republic has been neglected. In going beyond existing studies on narrowly circumscribed topics, the Research Unit aims to survey and map the complex entanglement of Protestantism and society in post-war West Germany. In order to do so, the Research Unit studies the decisions about ethical controversies in their historical, political, legal and economic context. To that end, Protestantism is understood as programmatically wide and embracing a variety of church and non-church, but also individual forms. The Research Unit involves protestant theologians, political scientists, public lawyers and contemporary historians and intends to promote the interdisciplinary exchange between theology and other humanities. It strives to contribute to a socio-politically informed history of religion in the Federal Republic of Germany. At the same time, the research project aims to illustrate the fundamental transformation of Protestant Christianity in modernity. Eventually, the Research Unit aims to portray the socio-political impact of Protestantism in West Germany with a view to continuities and discontinuities in the period after the reunification in 1990.

• DFG Programme: Research Units

Projects

• Coordination Funds (Applicant Albrecht, Christian )
• Political participation (Applicant Busch, Andreas )
• Processes of individualisation as reference point for ethical theories in protestant theology (Applicant Anselm, Reiner )
• Protestant Imagination of democratic law making (Applicant Heinig, Hans Michael )
• Protestantische Kommunikationsformen (Applicant Albrecht, Christian )
• Protestantism and questions on social integration and national identity (Applicant Lepp, Claudia )
• Protestantism and the the debates on the german welfare state (Applicant Kuller, Christiane )
• The german society as reflected in theological ethics (Applicant Laube, Martin )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Christian Albrecht