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Inner mission
(878 words)

1. The term and precursors

The term inner mission is inseparably associated with the Hamburg pastor Johann Hinrich Wichern and his broad program of social welfare work. Around the middle of the 19th century, he made it a trademark of Protestant diaconal welfare, thus emphasizing the theological foundation of welfare work. In inner mission, he combined the idea of Christian charitable activity in the sense of poor relief with a comprehensive program of social Christian…

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Friedrich, Norbert, “Inner mission”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 01 December 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_021433>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20190124



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