Reflektierte Religion

Among the formations of the Christian religion, Protestantism has always had a tendency to reflect on the way it perceives itself in a special manner. This is what has made theology, the rational explanation of faith, into a distinguishing feature of the Protestant religion and, in accordance with this, the history of theology into a central area of Protestant church history. On the other hand it is precisely those unpredictable effects which Protestantism has caused in the clearly defined areas of life which are of real relevance for church history. This volume contains thirteen essays written by Albrecht Beutel on the history of Protestantism. In chronological order, he studies the constellations in church history and the history of theology from the Reformation and the confessional era up to the Age of Enlightenment, including pietism.