Religious humanism

The free movement is a religious belief, which dispenses with formal doctrines and creeds. Human rights, tolerance between the people and values ​​of humanism are supported.

History

The free religious movement originated in the middle of the 19th century in the period of political pre-March period from the German Catholicism and the Protestant originally light friends. The immediate cause was in 1844, an open letter by the Catholic priest Johannes Ronge to Wilhelm Arnoldi, Bishop of Trier, against the issue of the " Rocks of Christ", a relic which he denounced as idolatrous feast. This open letter was widely reprinted and read. As a result, critical clergy of both churches founded new free communities, probably in the spirit of bourgeois emancipation movement in the time of the March Revolution.

The free religious movement was influenced by the philosophy of the Enlightenment, but also of mysticism and Christian liberal trends. In essence, the free religious movement fed from three sources:

• Reformist circles of the Catholic Church ( " German Catholics " )
• Reform-oriented ( " rationalist " ) circles of the Protestant Church ( " Friends of Light " )
• The democratic- political movement of the Revolution of 1848/49

From this spectrum, positions, covering a wide range of religious, ideological and philosophical views developed. The concept of religion ranges from about early Christian pantheistic to atheistic positions.

On June 17, 1859, 40,000 believers joined by 53 - and most - free communities to collar free Religious communities in Germany together. This covenant was later renamed Confederation of Free religious communities in Germany.

Besides created further mergers of free communities, as well as the association was founded already in 1845 the German Catholic religious communities and free southern Germany, which remained more than others also open for traditional Christians. In addition to a wing, rather advocated a free religion, and free religious communities that were more freidenkerisch oriented originated in Berlin, Breslau, Chemnitz, Leipzig, Nuremberg, Szczecin. The naturalistically oriented Breslauer community of the preacher Gustav Tschirn was oriented particularly true of materialism and criticism of religion Ludwig Feuerbach. From this direction later organized freethinkers movement, especially through the establishment of the German Freethinkers Association on April 10, 1881 in Frankfurt am Main, was built.

The Weimar founded in 1907 cartel did not occur, the federal government free Religious communities in Germany in, but stood close to him. Together with the Weimar cartel were the free religious one, especially for the separation of school and church in general and for the secularization of the state. Individual Free Religious were often also members of other free-spirited and freethinking associations such as the German Monist League, founded in 1906 and founded in 1908 the Marxist Central Association of Proletarian Freethinkers as the starting point of the proletarian movement freethinkers.

In 1922, the federal government free Religious communities in Germany and the Civil Freethinkers Association came together to National Association for freedom of mind. The national union stayed away from the association free Religious communities south and west of Germany, did not want to unite with the freethinkers and the Religious emphasized more. The national union had 1927 156 local churches and participated in the Reich Association free mental associations of the German Republic, which corresponded to the Weimar cartel before the First World War in their function.

In the era of National Socialism many free religious communities were forbidden from 1934 or dissolved. In addition, many religious free religious instruction was banned (in favor of the church's religious education ) or the implementation of youth consecrations. Some members were arrested. The National Association for freedom of spirit, the member communities with at that time had 60000-90000 members, trying to escape a ban by renaming. In May 1934, he was called in German Free Religious Federation, a few days later in federal free Religious communities in Germany has to offer. This closed in 1933 as a supporting member of the "Arbeitsgemeinschaft German Faith Movement " (ADG ) to, from which the German Faith Movement emerged. The federal government free of religious communities, however, was dissolved in 1935, after most of the communities had been banned. The Free religious community in Germany, which included southwestern German free religious communities in particular, remained composed, but had to adapt to the Nazi regime. In contrast to the National Association for freedom of mind he was aligned religious from the beginning.

Today's Free Religious describe themselves often referred to as humanists and some communities as Free humanists.

Teaching

By emphasizing values ​​such as freedom, reason and tolerance, the free religious form a critical question to the Christian churches. Under the slogan "Free is the Spirit, and without coercion of faith " discard Free Religious any kind of dogmatic loyalty and hierarchy. Accordingly, the developed by the church historian E. M. Wilbur principles apply:

• Complete spiritual freedom in religion instead of binding to dogmas and creeds
• Full use of reason in religion instead of relying on external authority and tradition
• Generous tolerance of different religious views and customs instead of insisting on uniformity in teaching, customs and administration.

Broke away Free Religious of ecclesiastical dogmas and creeds, but they did not separate from religion. In their understanding of religion they follow Friedrich Schleiermacher, if religion is defined as " something that moves us deeply, what concerns him deeply what it is essential " (see " spirit of the Free Religious Community in Mainz "). Free Religion is thus seen as an inner affair of man, which - as the religious philosopher Arthur Drews - is " not bound to a particular doctrine or revelation of holy books or religious leaders, but occurred even as the most intimate in detail, what think can ".

A religion without a church and without certain concept of God Religious see free the world as a unit, without having to split in this life and the Hereafter ( monism ). They deny the validity claim of holy books as well as the many, that regards itself as unique religions. Rather, the documents of world religions are valued as evidence of the religious need of the people. Free Religious emphasize that they were not free from religion, but free in religion - that is, without dogmatic bonds ( see also under Web Links: Source Book).

Famous people of the free religious movement

Ludwig Anke Brand, Eduard Baltzer, Karl Theodor Bayrhoffer, Walter A. Berend son, Robert Blum, William Bölsche, Lily Brown, Lorenz Diefenbach, Louise Dittmar, Arthur Drews, Eduard Duller, Julius Froebel, Georg Gottfried Gervinus, Ernst Haeckel, Friedrich Hecker, Hermann Home Erich, Käthe Kollwitz, Ludwig Marum, Max Maurenbrecher Malwida of Meysenbug, Martin Mohr, Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck, Louise Otto - Peters, Bertha Ronge, Johannes Ronge, Emil Adolf Rossmaessler, Carl Scholl, Carl Schurz, Amalie Struve, Gustav Struve, Leberecht Uhlich, Bruno Wille