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1. Issues The issue of the church existing in a socialist society is related in principle to that of the church coexisting with capitalism. The latter, however, is usually not regarded as an important problem because the achievements of middle-class revolutions have helped to ensure freedom and participation in religious liberty under laws for state churches or laws defining the legal and social space in which churches may function freely. The problem of the church in a socialist society arose only as socialist regimes seized power, which forced the church to reexamine its previous relation with capitalism or feudalism (caesaropapism in czarist Russia, neocolonialism in Cuba, colonialism in Angola and Mozambique, oligarchy in Ethiopia). As a rule, the new rulers “punished” the churches because of their former alliance with the dominant classes (Class and Social Stratum). With their reorientation under socialism…

[German Version] (Jun 8, 1889, Hodslavice – Dec 26, 1969, Prague). Hromádka studied Protestant theology in Vienna, Basel, Heidelberg, and Aberdeen, then studied philosophy in Prague. Theologically he was influenced by the Brethren legacy of the Reformation and by the philosopher Emanuel Rádl, then also by prophetic theologies (B.Duhm) and by the social-ethical analyses of E. Troeltsch. In debate with his philosophy teacher Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Hromádka developed a “theology of revelation” after…

Overview What Christianity has to say about salvation (Soteriology) is essentially bound up with the name and history of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12, “There is salvation in no one else …”). This verse expresses a universal claim and distinguishes it from, or even contradicts, what other religions and worldviews have to say about salvation. Christianity speaks of salvation as a gift of God’s love (Grace) for us and our world that transcends death, …