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[German Version] (Mar 25, 1860, Störmthal, near Leipzig – Aug 24, 1919, Travemünde). Active as pastor, writer on current affairs, and politician, Naumann became one of the most influential figures of the late Empire as he campaigned for political, social, religious, and cultural reforms. After beginning his career as Oberhelfer at Das Rauhe Haus in Hamburg, he served as a parish pastor in Langenberg (Saxony) and an official representative of the Inland Mission in Frankfurt. A marked interest in the social question led him to the Protestant wor…

[German Version] I. History 1. Terminology. The use of the term “association” to denote the formal union of persons and bodies has been common since the 19th century, especially through its application in the legal area. Associations were and are also called societies, unions, corporations, cooperatives, federations, groups, initiatives, movements etc. Modern unions are defined as the voluntary union of originally separate forces to achieve a common aim. By their structural features of free choice and a common aim, they are essentially different…

[German Version] (May 10, 1796, Hille, near Minden – Jul 25, 1877, Holzhausen, near Lübbecke). After studying theology in Jena, Halle, and Münster (1816–1820), from 1822 to 1827 he served as a pastor in Schnathorst (Lübbecke district), from 1827 to 1838 in Gütersloh, and from 1838 to 1869 in Jöllenbeck (Bielefeld district). He rejected theological rationalism and was influenced early on by the spirit of the Herrnhut Moravians (Bohemian and Moravian Brethren: II). Deeply moved above all by the 95 t…

[German Version] I. Law – II. History I. Law There does not necessarily have to be a comprehensive regulation of elections in the church, including for example the number of those to be elected and the time periods and forms in which the elections are to be conducted. Free churches and minority churches still manage without such regulations today; among Christians, in individual cases a fair procedure is possible on the basis of consensus. In Protestantism in the course of t…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Suicide is the violent taking of one’s own life by one’s own hand; it also includes voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide. Cultural traditions vary greatly regarding the admissibility of suicide. In tribal cultures, the aged and infirm in the Kalahari or other extremely arid regions ask their relatives for death. Kings and chiefs in African tribal cultures must kill themselves when the fortunes of war turn against them or they grow frail. To avoid dying in bed…