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[German Version] I. Social Sciences – II. History – III. Migration and Christianization – IV. Practical Theology I. Social Sciences The term migration refers to the movements of individuals and groups. It is a universal phenomenon, historically and geographically. International migration increased substantially during the 19th and 20th centuries, thanks to the worldwide expansion of colonialism as well as improved transportation systems and information technologies, but also as a result of war and persecution (se…

[German Version] The importance of the religiousness of intellectuals in the history of religions was analyzed by M. Weber in his studies on the development of redemptive religions (Typology of religion). He sought the origins of such religions not only in the underprivileged social classes’ hope of salvation in the here-and-now that arose from their material distress, but also in the intellectual desire of the educated to provide rationally satisfying answers to the problem of theodicy. According…

[German Version] (Sep 25, 1869, Peine – Mar 6, 1937, Marburg). Brought up by conservative Lutheran parents in Peine and Hildesheim, Otto began to study Protestant theology in Erlangen in 1888. In 1889 he transferred to the University of Göttingen, where he passed his theological examinations in 1892 and 1895; in 1898 he received his doctorate with a thesis on Luther’s concept of the Holy Spirit. In the same year he received a venia legendi for the history of systematic theology and the history and philosophy of religion. In 1906 he was appointed associate professor at…

[German Version] (Aug 19, 1862, Copenhagen – Mar 23, 1930), earned a Dr.phil. in 1896 with a dissertation on the Avesta, the sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism (Zarathustra/Zoroastrianism), and was lecturer in the history of religion at the University of Copenhagen from 1900 onward. In 1910, he was appointed to the first German professorship for the “general history of religion and philosophy of religion” at the Protestant theological faculty of the University of Berlin, from which he resigned in …

[German Version] I. History of Religions – II. Old Testament – III. Judaism – IV. Christianity – V. Dogmatics – VI. Islam I. History of Religions The terms messiah and messianism derive from the Hebrew word māšîaḥ, “anointed one.” Under the impact of foreign rule in Israel and Judah beginning in the 6th century bce, the word took on a new meaning: the Messiah was expected to bring deliverance from foreigners and oppressors, and in part to inaugurate the eschatological age of salvation (see II–IV below). The word's meaning was expanded in the …

[English Version] Otto, Rudolf (25.9.1869 Peine – 6.3.1937 Marburg). Aufgewachsen in einem konservativen luth. Elternhaus in Peine und Hildesheim, begann O. 1888 ein Studium der ev. Theol. in Erlangen. 1891 wechselte er an die Universität Göttingen, wo er 1892 und 1895 seine theol. Prüfungen ablegte und 1898 mit einer Arbeit über den Begriff des Hl.Geistes bei Luther promoviert wurde. Im selben Jahr erhielt er eine venia legendi für Gesch. der Syst. Theol., Religionsgesch. und -philos. 1906 wurde O…