The Oxford History of Modern German Theology, Volume 1: 1781-1848

From the closing decades of the eighteenth century, German theology has been a major intellectual force within modern western thought, closely connected to important developments in idealism, romanticism, historicism, phenomenology, and hermeneutics. Despite its influential legacy, however, no recent attempts have sought to offer an overview of its history and development. Oxford History of Modern German Theology, Vol. I: 1781-1848, the first of a three-volume series, provides the most comprehensive multi-authored overview of German theology from the period from 1781-1848. Kaplan and Vander Schel cover categories frequently omitted from earlier overviews of the time period, such as the place of Judaism in modern German society, race and religion, and the impact of social history in shaping theological debate. Rather than focusing on individual figures alone, Oxford History of Modern German Theology, Vol. I: 1781-1848 describes the narrative arc of the period by focusing on broader intellectual and cultural movements, ongoing debates, and significant events. It furthermore provides a historical introduction to each of the chronological subsections that divides the book. Moreover, unlike previous efforts to introduce this time period and geographical region, the volume offers chapters covering such previously neglected topics as religious orders, the influence of Romantic art, secularism, religious freedom, and important but overlooked scholarly initiatives such as the Corpus Reformatorum. Attention to such matters will make this volume an invaluable repository of scholarship and knowledge and an indispensable reference resource for decades to come.

Grant Kaplan, Professor of Theology, Saint Louis University,Kevin M. Vander Schel, Associate Professor or Religious Studies, Gonzaga University

Grant Kaplan works in the areas of systematic, fundamental, and historical theology. He is the author of Answering the Enlightenment: The Catholic Recovery of Historical Revelation (2006), René Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology (2016), and Faith and Reason through Christian History: A Theological Essay (2022). He received his Ph.D. from Boston College in 2002 and has worked at Saint Louis University since 2007.

Kevin Vander Schel's research centers on modern Christian thought, political theology, and theological hermeneutics. He is the author of Embedded Grace: Christ, History, and the Reign of God in Schleiermacher's Dogmatics (2013), and co-editor of The Fragility of Consciousness: Faith, Reason, and the Human Good (2017) and Theology, History, and the Modern German University (2021). He received his Ph.D. from Boston College in 2012, and is currently Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Gonzaga University.

Part 1: Background
1. The Reformation and the Emergence of Protestant Orthodoxy, Robert Kolb
2. Early Modern Catholic Theology in German-speaking Lands, Thomas Wallnig
3. German Pietism, Douglas Shantz
4. The Protestant Enlightenment, Eric Carlsson
5. The Counter-Enlightenment and Erweckungsbewegung: From J. G. Hamann to the Münster Circle, John R. Betz
6. Beginnings of Historical Criticism, Michael C. Legaspi
7. Translation, Bildung, and Dialogue: Central Concepts of German-Jewish Religious Thought 1783-1848, Paul Franks
Part 2: 1781-1806
8. Historical Introduction: Political, Social, and Legal Changes (1781-1806), Andreas Holzem
9. The Early Theological Reception of Kant's Religious Philosophy, Ian Hunter
10. The Pantheism Controversy in the 1780s, Myriam Bienenstock
11. Early German Romanticism and the Characteristics of Religion, Daniel Whistler
12. Romantic Art and Theology, Werner Busch (translated by Grant Kaplan and Kevin M. Vander Schel)
13. The Changing Place of Religious Orders, and its Role in Theological Development, Rainald Becker
Part 3: 1806-1815
14. Historical Introduction: Theological Justifications of Nationalism and the Beginnings of 'German Christianity' (1806-15), Ruth Jackson Ravenscroft
15. Debates about the Academic Status of Theology and the Foundation of the University of Berlin, Benjamin Dahlke
16. Approaches to Myth and Mythology, Liisa Steinby
17. Theology and Early Historicism, Johannes Zachhuber
Part 4: 1815-1830
18. Historical Introduction: Political Restoration and Its Effects on Theology 1815-30, Richard Schaefer
19. Confession, Secularism, and Dissent in the German Vormärz, Todd H. Weir
20. The Catholic Tübingen School in its First Generation, Grant Kaplan
21. Rationalism and Biblical Interpretation: H.E.G. Paulus, K.G. Bretschneider, and W.M.L. de Wette, Paul Michael Kurtz
22. Schleiermacher's Glaubenslehre and its Immediate Reception, Andrew Dole
23. Anti-Rationalist Developments: Supernaturalism and the German Religious Awakening, Kevin M. Vander Schel
24. Catholic Rationalism: Georg Hermes and Anton Günther, Justin Shaun Coyle
Part 5: 1830-1848
25. Historical Introduction: The German-Speaking Lands in Restoration and Vormärz, 1815-48, Jeffrey T. Zalar
26. Hegel's Philosophy of Religion, Schelling's Philosophy of Revelation, and their Immediate Theological Reception, Christian Danz
27. Ferdinand Christian Baur and the Tübingen School, David Lincicum
28. Mediating Theology, Annette G. Aubert
29. Church History and History of Doctrine 1830-1848, Klaus Unterburger
30. Strauss and the Life of Jesus Controversy, Michael Ledger-Lomas