The Theological, Cultural and Political Reception of Karl Barth's Theology in the Netherlands (1919-1989).

• Applicant: Dr. Susanne Hennecke
• Subject Area: Protestant Theology
• Term: from 2009 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 103586130

The entire project presents for the first time as a whole the theological, cultural and political receptions and the Wirkungsgeschichte of the Swiss-german protestant theologian Karl Barth (1886-1968) in The Netherlands and reflects them theoretically in the context of Modernity. In the period to be investigated (1919-1989) the importance of Karl Barth for The Netherlands can hardly be overestimated. On the one side the study presents the Wirkungsgeschichte and the history of receptions as a re-contextualisation and as a re-staging of Karl Barths theology in the different Christian streams and social movements. In particular it shows the ecumenical effect of this theology in the context of the very different - protestant - Dutch churches and theological streams. On the other side the study investigates the specific exchange between the different theological, political and cultural streams. It defends the challenging main thesis that in The Netherlands the reception of Karl Barths theology took place in form of different types of a theology of culture. While the first part of the project investigated the situation between 1919 and 1960, the second part started again in 1945 and focussed on the political and theological paradigm shift of the 70s until 1989. By doing this, the study investigates again the political, social and cultural developments after World War II and than it reflects theoretically on the whole period which had to be investigated. As an addition, now the new paradigm shift after 1989 will be included in the theoretical reflection as well. The goal of the extention of the second part is to deepen and to widen once again the main thesis of the whole study - i.e. that the receptions of theology of Karl Barth in The Netherlands developed in the form of different types of a theology of culture. To reach this goal the study does two things: On the one hand it brings in the cultural-theological approach of Hendrikus Berkhof (1914-1995). And on the other hand it shows that the culture-theological receptions developed as well in forms of a theology of cultural plurality. By doing this I follow the suggestions of the reviewers for the first application of extention.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants