Oxford History of Modern German Theology, Vol. I

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 athree-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 impactof 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 andgeographical 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 aninvaluable repository of scholarship and knowledge and an indispensable reference resource for decades to come.

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 Universitysince 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 Professorof Religious Studies at Gonzaga University.