The German Awakening
Protestant Renewal after the Enlightenment, 1815-1848
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Published:20th Jun '19
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Historians of modern German culture and church history refer to "the Awakening movement" (die Erweckungsbewegung) to describe a period in the history of German Protestantism between the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the Revolution of 1848. "The Awakening" was the last major nationwide Protestant reform and revival movement to occur in Germany. This book analyzes numerous primary sources from the era of the Awakening and synthesizes the current state of German scholarship for an English-speaking audience. It examines the Awakening as a product of the larger social changes that were re-shaping German society during the early decades of the nineteenth century. Theologically, Awakened Protestants were traditionalists. They affirmed religious doctrines that orthodox Protestants had professed since the confessional statements of the Reformation-era. Awakened Protestants rejected the changes that Enlightenment thought had introduced into Protestant theology and preaching since the mid-eighteenth century. However, Awakened Protestants were also themselves distinctly modern. Their efforts to spread their religious beliefs were successful because of the new political freedoms and economic opportunities that the Enlightenment had introduced. These social conditions gave German Protestants new means and abilities to pursue their religious goals. Awakened Protestants were leaders in the German churches and in the universities. They used their influence to found many voluntary organizations for evangelism, in Germany and abroad. They also established many institutions to ameliorate the living conditions of those in poverty. Adapting Protestantism to modern society in these ways was the most original and innovative aspect of the Awakening movement.
Kloes's book remains an excellent resource for those seeking an introduction to the German Awakening, as well as for researchers interested in the wide range of organizations and initiatives that it helped bring into existence. * George S. Williamson, Journal of Modern History *
Kloes's The German Awakening is a worthy entry among the number of remarkable monographs on nineteenth--century German theology that Oxford University Press has published within the last decade. * James Ambrose Lee, River Forest, Illinois *
The range of primary as well as secondary sources utilized is consistently impressive. It is my judgment that the writer has definitely succeeded in his attempt to provide a solid exposition of this underappreciated period in European Christian history ... the best available account of Germany's post-1815 Christian resurgence and the way in which, by midcentury, Germany took its place among the energetic mission-sending nations of the world. * Kenneth J. Stewart, Calvin Theological Journal *
Kloes's book provides an excellent survey of the German historiography and primary sources related to Protestant renewal and reform movements in the first half of the nineteenth century. This work will be invaluable to English-speaking scholars of the period and promote further comparative analyses of the evangelical movements, particularly in the areas of new societies for missionary work at home and abroad. The book is carefully researched and includes several comprehensive lists of scholars, voluntary societies, and the like associated with the Awakened movement. * Eileen Groth Lyon, Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society *
Kloes's study is an important step in bridging the Anglophone and German-language scholarship that will make such comparative work possible in the future. * Andrew Hansen, Church History *
For those who do not specialise in modern Germany, Kloes offers an account of how popular narratives about the Christian Church's decline and progress had their origins in this period of German religious history. * Joel Iliff, Baylor University, Journal of Ecclesiastical History *
...this is quite a scholarly achievement, filling a lacuna in the English-language scholarship * Richard Weikart, California State University, Themelios *
Kloes's The German Awakening is a worthy entry among the number of remarkable monographs on nineteenth-century German theology that Oxford University Press has published within the last decade. * James Ambrose Lee II, Logia *
This work should be of interest not only to historians of nineteenth century European Christianity but also to those who study immigrant Lutherans in the nineteenth century and attempt to understand what shaped, positively or negatively, the faith they brought with them. An important area for future scholarly work will be the exploration of the transatlantic ramifications of the Awakening movements. * Mary Jane Haemig, Lutheran Quarterly *
- Winner of Winner of the Dale W. Brown Book Award for Oustanding Scholarship in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies by the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College.
ISBN: 9780190936860
Dimensions: 157mm x 236mm x 33mm
Weight: 590g
344 pages