Religion Past and Present

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Enlightenment, The
(11,495 words)

[German Version]

I. Intellectual History – II. Theology and Church History – III. Latin America, Asia, Africa – IV. Missiology

I. Intellectual History

1. The Term

Equivalents to the term “Enlightenment” are found in all European languages (Dutch verlichting, Fr. les lumières, Germ. Aufklärung, Ital. illuminismo, Span. ilustración). The term is ambiguous almost to the point of equivocation. The history of the German word is especially illuminating.

The ver…

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Beutel, Albrecht, Prien, Hans-Jürgen and Hardy, Daniel, “Enlightenment, The”, in: Religion Past and Present. Consulted online on 03 June 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1877-5888_rpp_COM_01277>
First published online: 2011
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004146662, 2006-2013



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