Germany and the Confessional Divide

Mark Edward Ruff is Professor of History at Saint Louis University. He is the co-editor of three edited volumes on Christianity and Catholicism in the 19th and 20th centuries and the author of two monographs, including The Battle for the Catholic Past in Germany, 1945-1980 published by Cambridge University Press in 2017. He has received research fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) and the Alexander-von-Humboldt Stiftung.

“Germany and the Confessional Divide offers a richly nuanced interpretation of the relationship between religion, politics and culture in modern Germany. Incorporating sharp methodologies, it identifies pivotal stages of change and situates them within a larger narrative of German history. an important resource for unravelling the complexities of religion in the modern world… With historical precision and insightful analysis, Germany and the Confessional Divide resolves older scholarly riddles as well as presenting innovative directions for future studies in the field.” • European History Quarterly“Given the respective pedigrees of the scholars who contributed to this volume, its quality should come as no surprise.” • German Studies Review“This volume is a rich contribution to the literature on the German churches in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Importantly, it bridges the confessional divide that has long dominated historical scholarship on the German churches.” • Kyle Jantzen, Ambrose University“The editors bring together an impressive group of scholars to address the question of relations between Catholics and Protestants in Germany, succeeding where other volumes have not.” • Kevin P. Spicer, Stonehill College

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionMark Edward Ruff and Thomas GroßböltingChapter 1. The Kulturkampf and Catholic IdentityJeffrey T.  ZalarChapter 2. “Time to Close Ranks:” The Catholic “Kulturfront” during the Weimar RepublicKlaus Große KrachtChapter 3. The Revolution of 1918/1919: A Traumatic Experience for German ProtestantismBenedikt BrunnerChapter 4. The Confessional Divide in Voting BehaviorJürgen FalterChapter 5. The Fascist Origins of German EcumenismJames ChappelChapter 6. Conversion as a Confessional Irritant: Examples from the Third ReichBenjamin ZiemannChapter 7. Imperfect Interconfessionalism: Women, Gender, and Sexuality in Early Christian DemocracyMaria MitchellChapter 8. Importing Controversy: The Martin Luther Film of 1953 and Confessional TensionsMark Edward RuffChapter 9. In the Presence of Absence: Transformations of the Confessional Divide in West Germany after the HolocaustBrandon BlochChapter 10. A Tense Triangle: The Protestant Church, the Catholic Church, and the SED StateClaudia LeppChapter 11. A Minority between Confession and Politics: Catholicism in the Soviet Zone of Occupation and the GDR (1945–1990)Christoph KöstersChapter 12. The Churches and Changes in Missionary Work. Biconfessionalism and Developmental Aid to the “Third World” since the 1960sFlorian BockChapter 13. Deconfessionalization after 1945: Protestants and Catholics, Jews and Muslims as Actors within the Religious Sphere of the Federal Republic of GermanyThomas GroßböltingConclusion: Closing ReflectionsMark Edward Ruff and Thomas Großbölting