Die politische Religion. Eine Untersuchung über den Ursprung des Verfalls in der Geschichte (1935). Herausgegeben und eingeleitet von Rainer Hering

Abstract

The fourth volume of the series "Hamburger Historische Forschungen" comprises primarily the edition of an unpublished text. The author is the theologian Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Paul Schütz (1891-1985) who was the main pastor at the Hamburg Main Church St. Nikolai from 1940 to 1952. At the same time he taught as a full-time lecturer and later as professor of theology at the Church University of Hamburg. Schütz was one of the first to develop a concept of political religion. His contribution, written in 1935, could not be published at that time.Today, an edition of this article is important for the history of theology and church history. On the other hand, for some years now there has been an intensive discussion in historical research on the interpretation of the "Third Reich" as a "political religion" developed in the 1930s. This model, which sees dictatorships, especially National Socialism, as a "political religion", is generally attributed to Eric Voegelin and Raymond Aron, who published their approaches in 1938 and 1939 respectively. It was not known until recently that Paul Schütz had already developed such a concept three or four years earlier. The present edition can therefore provide new impetus for the debate on the history and viability of this approach and enrich its content.