Der westdeutsche Protestantismus auf dem Weg in die Minderheit
Since the beginning of the 1960s a striking change has taken place in the political and mental climates of the majority of Germans, which has far-reaching repercussions for the churches. As is shown in the second part of this study of sociological research of church members, there has been a marked...
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| 格式: | 电子 文件 |
| 语言: | German |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| 出版: |
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
2004
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| In: |
Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte
Year: 2004, 卷: 17, 发布: 1, Pages: 232-244 |
| 在线阅读: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| 总结: | Since the beginning of the 1960s a striking change has taken place in the political and mental climates of the majority of Germans, which has far-reaching repercussions for the churches. As is shown in the second part of this study of sociological research of church members, there has been a marked decline in membership since 1967, which by the 1990s rose to 1% per year. The decline in the number of baptisms clearly has implications for the next generation. In the 1970s the search for experience may have been a cause for the rise in the number of those participating in the Eucharist, but at the same time there was a rise in the numbers leaving the churches altogether. After the 1989 reunification, the number of those claiming they are non-Christians rose to one third of the population. It is quite conceivable that by 2030 less than half of the population will be members of a Christian church. How have theologians reacted to these changes? Or altered their doctrines? In the mid-60s various theologians were in favour of leaving behind the old idea of a Volkskirche. But their thesis that the church would be healthier if it had fewer nominal and more active adherents did not take account of the process of modernization going on. And over the past decades the churches themselves, by seeking mainly to satisfy the desires and convenience of their members, have allowed the social context of their activities to become obscured. Their spiritual task lost its priority, and often they merely reflected the kind of pluralistic and relativistic approaches to be found in the secular society. This tendency was only heightened by the readiness of many theologians to sanction the laity's undertaking to reflect on the gospel for themselves. This internal concentration on the individual and his or her needs goes hand in hand with the external loss of members. Which is cause and which is effect? |
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| ISSN: | 2196-808X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte
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