Evangelical Social Congress

The Evangelical Social Congress ( ESK ) is a May 28, 1890 by theologians, economists, politicians, lawyers and others founded association that highlight social problems from the standpoint of the Protestant ethic of their annual meetings.

History

The establishment of the ESK fell into the year of expiry of the Anti-Socialist Law and the resignation of Otto von Bismarck. Significant founding members and initiators were, among others, Adolf Stoecker, Hermann Kropatscheck, Adolph Wagner and Adolf von Harnack. Thus, the ESK was initially also marked by Stoecker patriarchal rejection of the socialist movement and founded to curb the growing influence of social democracy.

At its second session in May 1891 ESK turned in his statutes, the task " to investigate the social conditions of our people without prejudice, to assess them against the standard of moral and religious demands of the Gospel and to make them useful even for today's economy ".

In the early years, particularly on the Conference 1894 in Frankfurt am Main, there were crises within the ESK due to the very heterogeneous composition and the different goals of its members. The so-called younger Christian Social Friedrich Naumann order, supported by Max Weber, exerted strong criticism of the East Elbe landowners. This led in 1895 to the resignation of the conservative wing led by Martin of Nathusius. In 1896, then also left Stoecker with a part of his supporters to Congress. The following year, a new movement, the Free - Church- Social Conference was founded under his leadership. Also in 1896, the Protestant worker association movement from ESK renounced.

Under the President Harnack, Otto Baumgarten and Walter Simons ESK has established itself as the leading force of the liberal Protestant educated middle class. He could reach also affect the legislation, but found it hard to access workers. In 1911 he had 1631 members, 1933, greater than 1000.

He gave the publications Evangelical Social (1904-1922 and 1924-1941) and Social Correspondence out (since 1927).

In the era of National Socialism ESK became less important, although it remained formally independent. In the struggle between church and he remained neutral. After 1945, it was not possible to revive and continue the work of the ESK.

The Evangelical social worker associations originated in Switzerland for the first time in Basel 1894. 1907 the Swiss Evangelical social support fund SESUK was founded. In 1917, the forerunner of today's Evangelical People's Party emerged. 1920 mutated the SESUK the Swiss Association of Protestant workers and employee SVEA, which went up in the union CMV 1993. 1923 a corresponding association was founded in Germany, composed of SVEA.

Quotes

" Christian- social is nonsense " (Kaiser Wilhelm II on 28 February 1896 in a telegram to the Privy Council Peter Hinz ).

" The Congress has become more and more to a reel of all theoretically and practically important fundamental questions of ethics of Lutheranism with the departure of Stocker and with the move away from the Conservatives, which also is manifested himself that his line into the hand of the leader of the progressive Protestant theology is Adolf Harnack about gone. the to be tracked from the logs thought development of free, gradually ethics more than the dogmatic facing Protestantism is very instructive and attractive. difference is that in here only to the first beginnings of a Neustellung the problems behind the scientific ethics of modern Protestantism very reluctantly goes along with her ​​earnestness and the very small circles really moves. sole where you all today a really profound social ethics? " (Ernst Troeltsch, The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches and groups, Vol 2, 1912 Tübingen, Tübingen reprint 1994, p 593, footnote 294 )

President of the Evangelical Social Congress

  • Moritz Nobbe, 1890 -
  • Adolf von Harnack, 1902-1912
  • Otto Baumgarten, 1912-1925
  • Walter Simons, 1925-1933
  • John Herz, 1933 -

General Secretaries of the Evangelical Social Congress

  • Paul Göhre, 1891-1894
  • Immanuel Völter, 1895-1898
  • Paul Rohrbach, 1898-1902
  • Wilhelm Schneemelcher Elder, 1902 -
  • John Herz, 1923 -
Kirchenkampf Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland February 28
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