Leonhard Ragaz
Encyclopedia
Leonhard Ragaz was a Swiss Reformed theologian and, with Hermann Kutter
, one of the founders of Religious socialism
in Switzerland
. He was influenced by Christoph Blumhardt
.
He was married to feminist and peace activist Clara Ragaz-Nadig.
In 1890, he was elected as minister in Flerden
, Heinzenberg
. In 1893, he moved to Chur
, working as a teacher of language and religion, and from 1895 to 1902 as municipal minister. In 1902, Ragaz was elected as minister at the Basel Münster
.
In Basel, Ragaz came into contact with the Labour movement
. As construction workers went on strike in 1903, Ragaz delivered a sermon in the Münster which came to be known as the "bricklayers' strike sermon" (Maurerstreikpredigt), in which he said that "if institutional Christendom were to be cold and incomprehending towards the becoming of a new world, which after all emerged from the heart of the gospel, then the salt of the earth would have become putrid".
In 1908, Ragaz was called to a professorship at the theological faculty of Zürich University.
During the Swiss General Strike of 1918, he took sides with the workers, and as the authorities sent troops to protect the university buildings from the strikers, he protested.
In 1921, he resigned as professor, stating that he could not continue to educate ministers for the bourgeois Swiss Reformed Church
.
He and his family moved to the proletarian Aussersihl
district of Zürich. He remained involved with the labour movement, editing his journal Neue Wege, until his death in 1945.
As a consequence, the socialist ideal of self-administered cooperatives owned by the workers themselves was a postulate directly derived from the gospel and the promise of justice in God's kingdom
.
Also as a consequence of the Christian belief in justice and peace, Ragaz propagated anti-militarism and pacifism
.
He taught that if capitalism resorted to force and violence, that was a true reflection of its nature, but that if socialism did the same, it was a treason to its ideals.
Ragaz' main work is Die Bibel – eine Deutung ("The Bible - An Interpretation"), written during World War II
and published in seven volumes in 1947–1950.
Hermann Kutter
Hermann Kutter was a Swiss Lutheran theologian. Together with Leonhard Ragaz, he was one of the founders of Christian Socialism in Switzerland. He was heavily influenced by Christoph Blumhardt. He combined Blumhardt's expectation of a coming Kingdom of God with a belief in socialist progress...
, one of the founders of Religious socialism
Religious socialism
Religious socialism is a term used to describe forms of socialism that are based on religious values.Religious Socialism is also the title of a journal published by the Religion and Socialism Commission of the Democratic Socialists of America, a member of the Socialist International.Several major...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He was influenced by Christoph Blumhardt
Christoph Blumhardt
Christoph Blumhardt was a German Lutheran theologian and one of the founders of Christian Socialism in Germany and Switzerland. He was a well-known preacher. In 1899 he announced his support for socialism and joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany; for this, he lost his position as minister...
.
He was married to feminist and peace activist Clara Ragaz-Nadig.
Biography
Born to a farmer family in Tamins, Grisons, Ragaz studied theology in Basel, Jena and Berlin.In 1890, he was elected as minister in Flerden
Flerden
Flerden is a municipality in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Geography:Flerden has an area, , of . Of this area, 54.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30% is forested...
, Heinzenberg
Heinzenberg
Heinzenberg is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany....
. In 1893, he moved to Chur
Chur
Chur or Coire is the capital of the Swiss canton of Graubünden and lies in the northern part of the canton.-History:The name "chur" derives perhaps from the Celtic kora or koria, meaning "tribe", or from the Latin curia....
, working as a teacher of language and religion, and from 1895 to 1902 as municipal minister. In 1902, Ragaz was elected as minister at the Basel Münster
Basel Münster
The Basel Münster is one of the main landmarks and tourist attractions of the Swiss city of Basel. It adds definition to the cityscape with its red sandstone architecture and coloured roof tiles, its two slim towers and the cross-shaped intersection of the main roof...
.
In Basel, Ragaz came into contact with the Labour movement
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
. As construction workers went on strike in 1903, Ragaz delivered a sermon in the Münster which came to be known as the "bricklayers' strike sermon" (Maurerstreikpredigt), in which he said that "if institutional Christendom were to be cold and incomprehending towards the becoming of a new world, which after all emerged from the heart of the gospel, then the salt of the earth would have become putrid".
In 1908, Ragaz was called to a professorship at the theological faculty of Zürich University.
During the Swiss General Strike of 1918, he took sides with the workers, and as the authorities sent troops to protect the university buildings from the strikers, he protested.
In 1921, he resigned as professor, stating that he could not continue to educate ministers for the bourgeois Swiss Reformed Church
Swiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
.
He and his family moved to the proletarian Aussersihl
Aussersihl
Aussersihl is a district in the Swiss city of Zurich. It is District number 4. The district is colloquially known as Chreis Cheib, cheib being the Zurich German word for an animal cadaver; the area historically contained pits for the deposition of dead animals.The district comprises the quarters...
district of Zürich. He remained involved with the labour movement, editing his journal Neue Wege, until his death in 1945.
Religious socialism and pacificsm
For Ragaz, the Early Church was based on a spirit of cooperation and collectivity.As a consequence, the socialist ideal of self-administered cooperatives owned by the workers themselves was a postulate directly derived from the gospel and the promise of justice in God's kingdom
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
.
Also as a consequence of the Christian belief in justice and peace, Ragaz propagated anti-militarism and pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
.
He taught that if capitalism resorted to force and violence, that was a true reflection of its nature, but that if socialism did the same, it was a treason to its ideals.
Ragaz' main work is Die Bibel – eine Deutung ("The Bible - An Interpretation"), written during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and published in seven volumes in 1947–1950.
Works
- Du sollst. Grundzüge einer sittlichen Weltanschauung, Waetzel, Freiburg im Breisgau 1904
- Dein Reich komme. Predigten, Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel 1909
- Religionsphilosophie, 2 vols., Zürich 1909
- Die neue Schweiz. Ein Programm für Schweizer und solche, die es werden wollen,
- Weltreich, Religion und Gottesherrschaft, 2 vols., Rotapfel, Zürich/Leipzig 1922
- Der Kampf um das Reich Gottes in Blumhardt, Vater und Sohn – und weiter!, Rotapfel, Zürich/Leipzig 1922
- Von Christus zu Marx – von Marx zu Christus. Ein Beitrag, Harder, Wernigerode 1929
- Das Reich und die Nachfolge. Andachten, Herbert Lang, Bern 1937
- Gedanken. Aus vierzig Jahren geistigen Kampfes (anthology), Herbert Lang, Bern 1938
- Die Botschaft vom Reiche Gottes. Ein Katechismus für Erwachsene, Herbert Lang, Bern 1942
- Die Gleichnisse Jesu, Herbert Lang, Bern 1944
- Die Bergpredigt Jesu, Herbert Lang, Bern 1945
- Die Geschichte der Sache Christi. Ein Versuch, Herbert Lang, Bern 1945
- Die Bibel. Eine Deutung, 7 vols., Diana, Zürich 1947–50
- Mein Weg. Eine Autobiographie, autobiography, 2 vols., Diana, Zürich 1952
- Eingriffe ins Zeitgeschehen. Reich Gottes und Politik. Texte von 1900 bis 1945, eds. Ruedi Brassel and Willy Spieler, Exodus, Luzern 1995, ISBN 978-3-905575-56-9
- Leonhard Ragaz in seinen Briefen, eds. Christine Ragaz et al. (letters):
- vol. 1: 1887–1914, Zürich 1966, ISBN 978-3-290-11187-8
- vol. 2: 1914–1932, Zürich 1982, ISBN 978-3-290-11469-5
- vol. 3: 1933–1945, Zürich 1992, ISBN 978-3-290-10869-4
Literature
- Böhm, Manfred: Gottes Reich und Gesellschaftsveränderung. Traditionen einer befreienden Theologie im Spätwerk von Leonhard Ragaz, ed. Liberación, Münster 1988
- Buess, Eduard / Mattmüller, Markus: Prophetischer Sozialismus. Blumhardt – Ragaz – Barth, Exodus, Fribourg 1986
- Herkenrath, Silvia: Politik und Gottesreich. Kommentare zur Weltpolitik des Jahre 1918–1945 von Leonhard Ragaz, TVZ, Zürich 1977
- Jäger, Hans Ulrich: Ethik und Eschatologie bei Leonhard Ragaz. Versuch einer Darstellung der Grundstrukturen und inneren Systematik von Leonhard Ragaz' theologischem Denken unter besonderer Berücksichtigung seiner Vorlesungsmanuskripte, TVZ, Zürich 1971
- Kern, Karl Hans: Leonhard Ragaz – Dennoch glauben, Pahl-Rugenstein, 1996, ISBN 978-3-89144-215-9
- Kim, Hee-Eun: Das Verhältnis zwischen Christentum und Marxismus-Leninismus bei Leonhard Ragaz in seiner Bedeutung für die Minjung-Theologie, Haag + Herchen, 1991, ISBN 978-3-89228-731-5
- Köpke, Wilfried: "Wir harren eines neuen Himmels und einer neuen Erde" - Geschichtstheologische Grundlinien im Werk der Krise von Leonhard Ragaz, München 2007, ISBN 978-3-638-71704-5
- Lietha, Walter (ed.): Leonhard Ragaz im Profil. Gedanken – Biographisches – Lebenszeugnisse, Calven, Chur 1995, ISBN 978-3-905261-05-9
- Lindt, Andreas: Leonhard Ragaz. Eine Studie zur Geschichte und Theologie des religiösen Sozialismus, Evangelischer Verlag, Zollikon 1957
- Mattmüller, Markus: Leonhard Ragaz und der religiöse Sozialismus. Eine Biographie, 2 vols., EVZ, Zollikon/Zürich 1957/1968
- Rostig, Dittmar: Bergpredigt und Politik. Zur Struktur und Funktion des Reiches Gottes bei Leonhard Ragaz, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main/Bern 1991
- Ryoo, Jang-Hyun: Reich Gottes und seine Gerechtigkeit für die Erde. Das Verständnis von Reich Gottes und Sozialismus bei Leonhard Ragaz in seiner Bedeutung für die christlich-sozialistische Bewegung in Südkorea, diss. Berlin 1997
- Stähli, Martin Johann: Reich Gottes und Revolution. Christliche Theorie und Praxis für die Armen dieser Welt. Die Theologie des Religiösen Sozialismus bei Leonhard Ragaz und die Theologie der Revolution in Lateinamerika, Reich (= Theologische Forschung 57), Hamburg-Bergstedt 1976
- Ulrich von den Steinen: Agitation für das Reich Gottes. Ein Beitrag zur religiös-sozialen Predigtpraxis und homiletischen Theorie bei Leonhard Ragaz, Kaiser (= Beiträge zur evangelischen Theologie 77), München 1977
- Wieland Zademach (ed.): Reich Gottes für diese Welt – Theologie gegen den Strich. Erbe der Väter (L. Ragaz/M. BuberMartin BuberMartin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
/H. J. Iwand/J. L. Hromadka/H. GollwitzerHelmut GollwitzerHelmut Gollwitzer was a Protestant theologian and author.Born in Bavaria, Gollwitzer studied Protestant theology in Munich, Erlangen, Jena and Bonn ; he later completed a doctorate under Karl Barth in Basel , writing on the understanding of the eucharist in Martin Luther and John Calvin.During...
/P. Teilhard de ChardinPierre Teilhard de ChardinPierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard conceived the idea of the Omega Point and developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of Noosphere...
). Auftrag für heute – Hoffnung für morgen, Spenner, Waltrop 2001, ISBN 978-3-933688-65-1
External links
- Neue Wege biography page