Between the Home Front and the Battlefield - "Images of War" in Protestant Sermons and Devotional Literature of World War I

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Andrea Hofmann
• Subject Area: Protestant Theology
• Term: from 2017 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 389182694

This research project investigates theological “war images” – interpretations of the war – in Protestant sermons and devotional literature from southwest German (Palatinate, Baden, Württemberg, Hessen, and Alsace) during the First World War. It thus focuses on a geographical space that was particularly affected by the events of the war, given its close proximity to the western front. Through the inclusion of Alsace, the project also investigates a border region which was incorporated into the German Empire as recently as 1871. Theologians in Alsace were particularly engaged by questions of national identity formation. The sources include printed and handwritten sermons from the personal papers of Protestant clergymen from the state churches listed, as well as devotional literature, which was sold and distributed by church publishers during the war. This includes sermons and devotional literature written both for the so-called home front, as well as for soldiers at the front. Right up to the present, the Protestant church has been confronted with the accusation that its activities during both the world wars of the twentieth century contradicted the teachings of Christ. How did this church, which viewed itself as an authority on theological, moral and political matters, actually act in the extreme political and social circumstances which World War I undoubtedly presented? The sources investigated are deeply rooted in historical and political tradition, and in nineteenth-century theology. The project will reconstruct these war images through the prism of these traditions by employing the following analytical categories: biblical interpretation, historical interpretation, the systematic-theological/ethical perspective, and the practical-theological perspective. My initial survey of the primary sources indicates that it is not possible to identify a uniform war image for the period 1914–1918. Instead, there were different interpretations of the war, which varied depending on the theological and personal perspective of the respective clergyman and his position in society, as well as the context in which he was delivering the sermon. Using case studies, the project will show how the war images advanced by individual churchmen developed and were transformed during the course of the war as a result of how the respective clergymen and their congregations experienced the war. An important preliminary conclusion of this research is that interpretations of the war were often dominated by eschatological elements, which were also intended to motivate the faithful to act in an ethically and morally correct way during the war. Sermons and devotional literature were used by clergymen in a targeted way to disseminate a “war piety” directed by the church. This study makes a contribution to historical research on religious ministry and piety, and also contributes to the discussion on the relationship between religion and politics during the course of history.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: France
• Host: Professor Dr. Matthieu Arnold