Covenant of Religious Socialists of Germany
The League of Religious Socialists and Socialists of Germany eV ( BRSD, initially Bund religious Socialists of Germany ) is an organization of mainly evangelical Christians who argue for a socialist society. It was founded in 1926, banned in the era of National Socialism from 1933 to 1945 and founded in West Germany in 1946 new.
Prehistory
Main article: Religious Socialism
Since 1919 and 1920, began religious - mostly Christian - oriented socialists in different groups initially to organize independently. Both their objectives as well as the composition was varied. Dominant were members of academic professions (teachers, university teacher, pastor ). An origin was initially the goal of transforming the old magisterial church organization by a national church ( church folk movement). Over the next development won socialist ideas more weight. The pastor Erwin Eckert formulated as:
Organization
In the following years, the groups began to network and gradually merge. In the first week of August 1924 was taken on the first Meersburger session, the Working Group of Religious Socialists in Germany. On the second Meersburger meeting, at the third Congress, from 1st to August 5th 1926, the League of Religious Socialists of Germany was founded. Leading head was Erwin Eckert. This was also editor in chief ( " editors ") of the issued by the federal government " Sunday paper of the working people " 1924-1930 ( formerly:. Christian people fortnightly journal of the Baden People's Church of Nations in 1919, Christian People's Journal 1920-1924; Ye are brothers religious - socialist leaves from the. Rhineland 1921-1922, the Religious Socialist monthly Magazine of the Federal religious Socialists of Germany and the Association of Friends of Religion and International peace 1922-1924), New upper Title: the Religious Socialist 1930-1933 ( " editors " God Help thigh). In addition to the federal government of the so -called Neuwerk circle existed (Journal: Neuwerk A service of the Will, to September 1919. The Christian Democrat, to June 1921: The New Factory The Christian in people's state. ) And the Tillich - circle (Journal: Flowers of Religious socialism 1920-1927, New leaves for socialism. magazine for spiritual and political organization from 1930 to 1933 ). These shared the basic objectives of the covenant, but understood more. Than discussion forum or as an academic community How the Religious Socialists were the brother Höfer, a circle around Eberhard Arnold, who practiced a community of goods similar to community property of the Jerusalem church and was minded pacifist, influenced by the witness of life Christoph Blumhardt. The resulting since 1928/1929 Catholic Socialists (Journal: The Red Journal of the Catholic Socialists 1929-1930 ) and in 1929 formed ' Association of Jewish Socialists ' remained organizationally independent and were working as communities in BRSD linked only loosely with the federal government. Contributions of both organizations can be found in the Journal of Religion and Socialism 1929-1933.
The focus of the Federal were Baden, Wurttemberg, the Palatinate, Thuringia and Berlin. Followers were pastors, teachers and workers mainly from small and medium-sized towns. Many of the workers had an agricultural background, and often possessed himself still a piece of land. The membership was to wide fluctuations in 10,000 to 25,000. Politically, the followers mostly were close to the SPD. On the fourth Congress of the Federal 79 % of the delegates were members of the SPD. Although the federal government did recognize no political preferences, there was virtually no connection with the bourgeois parties. In the SPD and the Social Democratic milieu prevailed over the religious socialists either indifference or about the part of the proletarian freethinker associations from sharp rejection. The influence of the federal to the Protestant churches remained minimal. Only about 200 of 16,000 priests belonged to the federal government belong to the " brotherhood of socialist theologians " to.
Objectives and programmatic
Objectives of the Confederation were the radical separation of church and state, the democratization of the church, the party-political neutrality of the Church, non-denominational schools, an end to the military chaplaincy and work of the Church for peace and international understanding. These demands led to the federal government came in the civic minded church hierarchy with strong resistance. Nevertheless, the federal government contributed with little success to intra- ecclesiastical elections in the municipalities and synods. After all, he managed to send representatives to the provincial synods in Baden, Württemberg and Thuringia. However, they were also there to a majority of conservative delegates.
About the narrower the ecclesiastical sphere addition, the government became involved also for general political issues. In 1926 he supported the referendum on Prince expropriation and 1928 he criticized the construction adopted by the Government of the battleship Müller A. In the matter of military policy of the federal government was deeply divided. Some called for the defensibility of a democratic republic, others like the chairman Eckert just wanted a socialist government to concede an armed force, in addition, there was a wing radical pacifists. The collar belonged to the German Peace Cartel, which was founded in 1921 umbrella organization of pacifist organizations, and was represented there by Hans Francke. The conflicts within the labor movement reached the federal government in 1931, when the chairman Eckert, disappointed by the toleration policy of the SPD against the Brüning government, went over to the KPD. The federal government positioned itself clearly against the Nazis. This he described clearly as a " pre-Christian pagan forces of destruction " and criticized the violence-glorifying ideology of the Nazi Party.
After 1933
Like the other socialist organizations, the federal government was prohibited after the beginning of the Nazi regime. Resistance structures from the BRSD example, there were in Berlin to Erich furrier. After the Second World War, there was a re-foundation. The groups in the territory of the Soviet occupation zone disintegrated after 1946, the structures of the BRSD in the Federal Republic have been marginalized -ending of the Cold War, but could revitalize after 1968. In 1977 it came to starting up in Bochum, where one explicitly drew on the first program of 1926. First Federal spokesman was the Bochum Mathematics Professor Günter Ewald. His successors were the Bielefeld Catholic theologian Klaus Kreppel, the Düsseldorf Protestant theologian Erhard Griese and the Berlin Protestant theologian Ulrich Peter. The organization is now called "League of Religious Socialists and Socialists of Germany eV " and is part of the network initiative church from below ( IKvu ), the Attac network, Oikocredit, Kairos Europe and the International League of Religious Socialists. The Journal of the Covenant is a Christian and a Socialist since 1948, leaves the League of Religious Socialists of Germany, since 1994 CuS. Christian and Socialist. Christian and socialist, leaves the League of Religious Socialists and Socialists of Germany eV, since August 2006 with the subtitle " Cross and Rose", from May 2005 - April 2006 in cooperation with New Ways. Journal of Religious Socialism. Zurich.