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[German Version] term for the political position of the Evangelical churches in the German Democratic Republic. While the SED (Socialist Unity Party) state used the formula to oblige the churches to accept socialism, for the churches it served a variety of functions. In the first instance, the churches used it to signal their renunciation of public opposition to GDR socialism and thus their fundamental loyalty to the system of ¶ the GDR. At the same time, the formula avoided acclamation. It did not signify a preferential option for socialism. Above all, it …

[German Version] The expression value change usually refers to the change of attitude from materialistic to post-materialistic values that took place in highly industrialized Western societies in the 1960s and 1970s. Ronald Inglehart, whose work substantially influenced the theory of value change, spoke of a “silent revolution.” What he meant was that despite structural continuity during these decades, a change in fundamental cultural orientation took place among the populations of Western Europe and…

[German Version] I. General – II. Church History and Denominations – III. Non-Christian Religions – IV. Society, Culture, Religion, and the Churches in the Present I. General 1. Name The term Germany ( Deutschland) has been shaped by the history of the area it denotes. From the beginnings until 1945 it was closely associated with the German or Holy Roman Empire, so that it underwent many transformations. Since 1949 it has referred primarily to the Federal Republic of Germany, which since the joining of the German Democratic…

[German Version] I. History and Cosmology – II. Religious Studies – III. Evolution and Creation – IV. Social Sciences – V. Ethics I. History and Cosmology The significance of the notion of evolution as a historical process taking place through the interaction of contingent factors and regular laws first attracted attention in 18th-century geology, where it served to mediate between the theory of uniformity, espoused by James Hutton (…

[German Version] ( in religious studies). Religious roles represent a set of behavioral expectations developed by a religious community; they relate to the perception of particular religious functions, such as administration of the cult, proclamation of religious teaching, dissemination of the teaching, care for personal salvation or the salvation of others. Typical religious roles include those of priest (Priesthood), teacher, missionary, pastoral practitioner, monk (Monasticism), nun, guru, shaman …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Systems theory considers religion one social system alongside others, like the economy, law (Law and Jurisprudence), politics, and education and analyzes it in terms of the function it discharges. The evolutionary approach of systems theory assumes that in primordial local communities the function of religion was nonspecific and was fulfilled in combination with other functions – military, economic, and familial. The transition to modern societies witnessed a dif…

[German Version] I. Study of Religion – II. History – III. Sociology – IV. Practical Theology – V. Missiology I. Study of Religion The term modernization usually refers to mutually reinforcing structural changes in various social sectors: nation building and democratization in the political sector; industrialization and tertiarization (i.e. the development of services) in the economic sector; urbanization, educational expansion, and mobilization in the social sector; diversification and individualization in the c…

[German Version] A group is a limited number of persons between whom repeated direct personal contact is possible over a long period of time. Groups differ from simple systems of interaction by virtue of their durability, and from organizations in the lesser degree of regulation of interactions. At the same time, groups also manifest division of responsibilities, role differentiation and hierarchialization (Hierarchy). This, however, is not what characterizes small groups, but rather a feeling of …

[German Version] Alongside or in the context of church structures, spontaneous and unplanned groups often form on the fringes of the church, which are based on the personal relationships among the members of the group and are capable of combining their interests in personal social relationship with topical interests (prayer circles, home groups [House church], peace groups [Peace movement], women's groups, environmental groups). Bacause of the principle of their constitution (cf. Group), they find…