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125-661: Following the occurrence of a Pietist spiritual revival that swept through a large part of the Midwestern United States in the 1890s, an assembly of Lutherans who were influenced by this fervor felt the need to reject several former beliefs as incompatible with their newfound spirituality. They rejected the idea of receiving the unconverted into full membership or admitting them to Communion , replaced liturgical ceremonies with simple worship services, and formed new congregations to worship and serve according to these dictates of conscience. Five such Lutheran congregations from

250-728: A general armistice ended the fighting. In the German Revolution (November 1918), Wilhelm II and the ruling princes abdicated their positions, and Germany was declared a federal republic . Germany's new leadership signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, accepting defeat by the Allies . Germans perceived the treaty as humiliating, which was seen by historians as influential in the rise of Adolf Hitler . Germany lost around 13% of its European territory and ceded all of its colonial possessions in Africa and

375-556: A great power with a strong economy ; it has the largest economy in Europe by nominal GDP . As a global power in industrial, scientific and technological sectors, it is both the world's third-largest exporter and importer . As a developed country , it offers social security , a universal health care system , and tuition-free university education . Germany is a member of the United Nations , Council of Europe , NATO and OECD , and

500-456: A sustainable energy supply, the debt brake for balanced budgets, measures to increase the fertility rate ( pronatalism ), and high-tech strategies for the transition of the German economy, summarised as Industry 4.0 . During the 2015 European migrant crisis , the country took in over a million refugees and migrants. Germany is the seventh-largest country in Europe . It borders Denmark to

625-555: A temperate climate, ranging from oceanic in the north and west to continental in the east and southeast. Winters range from the cold in the Southern Alps to cool and are generally overcast with limited precipitation, while summers can vary from hot and dry to cool and rainy. The northern regions have prevailing westerly winds that bring in moist air from the North Sea, moderating the temperature and increasing precipitation. Conversely,

750-655: A Lutheran denomination with a largely Pietistic following with some Presbyterian and Pentecostal influence and primarily based in Ethiopia and among the Ethiopian diaspora , is the largest individual member Lutheran denomination within the Lutheran World Federation . Whereas Pietistic Lutherans stayed within the Lutheran tradition, adherents of a related movement known as Radical Pietism believed in separating from

875-455: A NATO effort to provide security in that country after the ousting of the Taliban . In the 2005 elections , Angela Merkel became the first female chancellor. In 2009, the German government approved a €50 billion stimulus plan. Among the major German political projects of the early 21st century are the advancement of European integration , the energy transition ( Energiewende ) for

1000-743: A Reform of the True Evangelical Church , the title giving rise to the term "Pietists". This was originally a pejorative term given to the adherents of the movement by its enemies as a form of ridicule, like that of "Methodists" somewhat later in England. In Pia desideria , Spener made six proposals as the best means of restoring the life of the church: This work produced a great impression throughout Germany. While large numbers of orthodox Lutheran theologians and pastors were deeply offended by Spener's book, many other pastors immediately adopted Spener's proposals. In 1686 Spener accepted an appointment to

1125-638: A centralised totalitarian state , withdrew from the League of Nations , and dramatically increased the country's rearmament . A government-sponsored programme for economic renewal focused on public works, the most famous of which was the Autobahn . In 1935, the regime withdrew from the Treaty of Versailles and introduced the Nuremberg Laws which targeted Jews and other minorities. Germany also reacquired control of

1250-693: A country in Central Europe . It lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 82 million in an area of 357,596 km (138,069 sq mi), making it the most populous member state of the European Union . It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to

1375-497: A crisis and ultimately a decision to start a new, Christ-centered life." Pietistic Lutherans emphasize following "biblical divine commands of believers to live a holy life and to strive for holy living, or sanctification ". Pietism did not die out in the 18th century, but was alive and active in the American Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchenverein des Westens (German Evangelical Church Society of

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1500-568: A distinct group within the broader community of Christians , with a renewed focus on the Lutheran Confessions as a key source of Lutheran doctrine. Associated with these changes was a renewed focus on traditional doctrine and liturgy, which paralleled the growth of Anglo-Catholicism in England. In Denmark , Pietistic Lutheranism became popular in 1703. There, the faithful were organized into conventicles that "met for prayer and Bible reading". Pietistic Lutheranism entered Sweden in

1625-507: A founding member of the European Union, G7 and G20 . It has the third-highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites , 54 , of which 51 are cultural. The English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania , which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine . The German term Deutschland , originally diutisciu land ('the German lands'),

1750-599: A framework laid out in the 1949 constitution known as the Grundgesetz (Basic Law). Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority of both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat ; the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of law , are valid in perpetuity. The president , currently Frank-Walter Steinmeier ,

1875-478: A holy Christian life. Although the movement is aligned with Lutheranism, it has had a tremendous impact on Protestantism worldwide, particularly in North America and Europe. Pietism originated in modern Germany in the late 17th century with the work of Philipp Spener , a Lutheran theologian whose emphasis on personal transformation through spiritual rebirth and renewal, individual devotion, and piety laid

2000-658: A joint responsibility of the international community. It was the world's second-biggest aid donor in 2019 after the United States. Germany's military, the Bundeswehr (Federal Defence), is organised into the Heer (Army and special forces KSK ), Marine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Cyber- und Informationsraum (Cyber and Information Domain Service) branches. In absolute terms, German military spending in 2023

2125-548: A new form of justification by works. Its ecclesiolae in ecclesia also weakened the power and meaning of church organization. These Pietistic attitudes caused a counter-movement at the beginning of the 18th century; one leader was Valentin Ernst Löscher , superintendent at Dresden. Authorities within state-endorsed Churches were suspicious of pietist doctrine which they often viewed as a social danger, as it "seemed either to generate an excess of evangelical fervor and so disturb

2250-686: A number of national and international missionary endeavours throughout its history. In 1966, the denomination, in partnership with several other missional bodies, instituted the China Lutheran Seminary in Hsinchu City , Taiwan . Pietist Bible Translators Theologians Pietism ( / ˈ p aɪ . ɪ t ɪ z əm / ), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism , is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living

2375-664: A permanent mark on the region's dominant Lutheranism, with figures like Hans Nielsen Hauge in Norway , Peter Spaak and Carl Olof Rosenius in Sweden , Katarina Asplund in Finland , and Barbara von Krüdener in the Baltics, and to the rest of Europe. It was further taken to North America, primarily by German and Scandinavian immigrants. There, it influenced Protestants of other ethnic and other (non-Lutheran) denominational backgrounds, contributing to

2500-704: A profound opinion that the Christian life within Evangelical Lutheranism was being sacrificed to zeal for rigid Lutheran orthodoxy . Pietism, as a distinct movement in the German Church, began with religious meetings at Spener's house ( collegia pietatis ) where he repeated his sermons, expounded passages of the New Testament , and induced those present to join in conversation on religious questions. In 1675, Spener published his Pia desideria or Earnest Desire for

2625-537: A provisional capital, to emphasise its stance that the two-state solution was temporary. West Germany was established as a federal parliamentary republic with a " social market economy ". Starting in 1948 West Germany became a major recipient of reconstruction aid under the American Marshall Plan . Konrad Adenauer was elected the first federal chancellor of Germany in 1949. The country enjoyed prolonged economic growth ( Wirtschaftswunder ) beginning in

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2750-529: A result, Laestadian Lutherans have remained a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland , the national Church in that country, with some Laestadian Lutherans being consecrated as bishops . In the United States, Laestadian Lutheran Churches were formed for Laestadian Pietists. Laestadian Lutherans observe the Lutheran sacraments , holding classical Lutheran theology on infant baptism and

2875-615: A state, the East German authorities eased border restrictions, but this actually led to an acceleration of the Wende reform process culminating in the Two Plus Four Treaty under which Germany regained full sovereignty. This permitted German reunification on 3 October 1990, with the accession of the five re-established states of the former GDR. The fall of the Wall in 1989 became a symbol of

3000-692: A symbol of the Cold War . Tensions between East and West Germany were reduced in the late 1960s by Chancellor Willy Brandt 's Ostpolitik . In 1989, Hungary decided to dismantle the Iron Curtain and open its border with Austria , causing the emigration of thousands of East Germans to West Germany via Hungary and Austria. This had devastating effects on the GDR, where regular mass demonstrations received increasing support. In an effort to help retain East Germany as

3125-470: A time for summer revival services in which many young adults find their future spouses. R. J. Hollingdale , who translated Friedrich Nietzsche 's Thus Spake Zarathustra into English, argued that a number of the themes of the work (especially amor fati ) originated in the Lutheran Pietism of Nietzsche's childhood – Nietzsche's father, Carl Ludwig Nietzsche , was a Lutheran pastor who supported

3250-561: A year in Geneva , and was powerfully influenced by the strict moral life and rigid ecclesiastical discipline prevalent there, and also by the preaching and the piety of the Waldensian professor Antoine Leger and the converted Jesuit preacher Jean de Labadie . During a stay in Tübingen , Spener read Grossgebauer's Alarm Cry , and in 1666 he entered upon his first pastoral charge at Frankfurt with

3375-665: Is a quintessentially North American phenomenon, deriving as it did from the confluence of Pietism, Presbyterianism , and the vestiges of Puritanism . Evangelicalism picked up the peculiar characteristics from each strain – warmhearted spirituality from the Pietists (for instance), doctrinal precisionism from the Presbyterians, and individualistic introspection from the Puritans – even as the North American context itself has profoundly shaped

3500-609: Is dealt with at length in Other works are: See also The most extensive and current edition on Pietism is the four-volume edition in German, covering the entire movement in Europe and North America Germany – in Europe  (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (light green) Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is

3625-554: Is derived from deutsch ( cf. Dutch ), descended from Old High German diutisc 'of the people' (from diot or diota 'people'), originally used to distinguish the language of the common people from Latin and its Romance descendants . This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic * þiudiskaz 'of the people' (see also the Latinised form Theodiscus ), derived from * þeudō , descended from Proto-Indo-European * tewtéh₂- 'people', from which

3750-637: Is devoted to agriculture, while 30% is forested and 14% is covered by settlements or infrastructure. Plants and animals include those generally common to Central Europe. According to the National Forest Inventory, beeches , oaks , and other deciduous trees constitute just over 40% of the forests; roughly 60% are conifers , particularly spruce and pine . There are many species of ferns , flowers , fungi , and mosses . Wild animals include roe deer , wild boar , mouflon (a subspecies of wild sheep), fox , badger , hare , and small numbers of

3875-599: Is largely autonomous in regard to its internal organisation. As of 2017 , Germany is divided into 401 districts ( Kreise ) at a municipal level; these consist of 294 rural districts and 107 urban districts . Germany has a civil law system based on Roman law with some references to Germanic law . The Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) is the German Supreme Court responsible for constitutional matters, with power of judicial review . Germany's specialized supreme court system includes

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4000-512: Is still alive in groups inside the Evangelical Church in Germany . These groups are called Landeskirchliche Gemeinschaften and emerged in the second half of the 19th century in the so-called Gemeinschaftsbewegung . The 19th century saw a revival of confessional Lutheran doctrine, known as the neo-Lutheran movement . This movement focused on a reassertion of the identity of Lutherans as

4125-627: Is the head of state and invested primarily with representative responsibilities and powers. He is elected by the Bundesversammlung (federal convention), an institution consisting of the members of the Bundestag and an equal number of state delegates. The second-highest official in the German order of precedence is the Bundestagspräsident ( President of the Bundestag ), who is elected by

4250-483: Is vested in the parliament consisting of the Bundestag (Federal Diet) and Bundesrat (Federal Council), which together form the legislative body. The Bundestag is elected through direct elections using the mixed-member proportional representation system. The members of the Bundesrat represent and are appointed by the governments of the sixteen federated states. The German political system operates under

4375-457: The Gründerzeit period following the unification of Germany, Bismarck's foreign policy as chancellor of Germany secured Germany's position as a great nation by forging alliances and avoiding war. However, under Wilhelm II , Germany took an imperialistic course, leading to friction with neighbouring countries. A dual alliance was created with the multinational realm of Austria-Hungary ;

4500-484: The Bundestag and responsible for overseeing the daily sessions of the body. The third-highest official and the head of government is the chancellor, who is appointed by the Bundespräsident after being elected by the party or coalition with the most seats in the Bundestag . The chancellor, currently Olaf Scholz , is the head of government and exercises executive power through his Cabinet . Since 1949,

4625-858: The Allies de jure abolished the German state and partitioned Berlin and Germany's remaining territory into four occupation zones. The western sectors, controlled by France, the United Kingdom , and the United States , were merged on 23 May 1949 to form the Federal Republic of Germany ( German : Bundesrepublik Deutschland ); on 7 October 1949, the Soviet Zone became the German Democratic Republic (GDR) ( German : Deutsche Demokratische Republik ; DDR). They were informally known as West Germany and East Germany. East Germany selected East Berlin as its capital, while West Germany chose Bonn as

4750-607: The Battle of Britain in the same year. In 1941, German troops invaded Yugoslavia , Greece and the Soviet Union . By 1942, Germany and its allies controlled most of continental Europe and North Africa , but following the Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad , the Allied reconquest of North Africa and invasion of Italy in 1943, German forces suffered repeated military defeats. In 1944,

4875-765: The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest . The outcome of this battle dissuaded the Romans from their ambition of conquering Germania and is thus considered one of the most important events in European history . By 100 AD, when Tacitus wrote Germania , Germanic tribes had settled along the Rhine and the Danube (the Limes Germanicus ), occupying most of modern Germany. However, Baden-Württemberg , southern Bavaria , southern Hesse and

5000-528: The Berchtesgaden National Park . In addition, there are 17 Biosphere Reserves , and 105 nature parks . More than 400 zoos and animal parks operate in Germany. The Berlin Zoo , which opened in 1844, is the oldest in Germany, and claims the most comprehensive collection of species in the world. Germany is a federal , parliamentary , representative democratic republic. Federal legislative power

5125-466: The Bible , stating, "We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and free from error. It is authoritative for faith and conduct." Other beliefs include the triune Godhead ; total depravity; the eternal Son-ship, Virgin Birth , sinless life, substitutionary atonement , bodily resurrection , personal return of Jesus ; infant baptism ; and Holy Communion . It has been noted for practicing open communion , teaching premillennialism , and not having

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5250-414: The Black Death of 1348–1350. The Golden Bull issued in 1356 provided the constitutional structure of the Empire and codified the election of the emperor by seven prince-electors . Johannes Gutenberg introduced moveable-type printing to Europe, laying the basis for the democratization of knowledge . In 1517, Martin Luther incited the Protestant Reformation and his translation of the Bible began

5375-538: The Carolingian Empire in 800; it was divided in 843 . The eastern successor kingdom of East Francia stretched from the Rhine in the west to the Elbe river in the east and from the North Sea to the Alps. Subsequently, the Holy Roman Empire emerged from it. The Ottonian rulers (919–1024) consolidated several major duchies . In 996, Gregory V became the first German Pope, appointed by his cousin Otto III , whom he shortly after crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern Italy and Burgundy under

5500-471: The Celtic , Iranian , Baltic , and Slavic tribes. Southern Germany was inhabited by Celtic-speaking peoples, who belonged to the wider La Tène culture . They were later assimilated by the Germanic conquerors. Under Augustus , the Roman Empire began to invade lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes, creating a short-lived Roman province of Germania between the Rhine and Elbe rivers. In 9 AD, three Roman legions were defeated by Arminius in

5625-430: The Eurasian beaver . The blue cornflower was once a German national symbol . The 16 national parks in Germany include the Jasmund National Park , the Vorpommern Lagoon Area National Park , the Müritz National Park , the Wadden Sea National Parks , the Harz National Park , the Hainich National Park , the Black Forest National Park , the Saxon Switzerland National Park , the Bavarian Forest National Park and

5750-493: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Church of Sweden . After encountering a Sami woman who experienced a conversion, Laestadius had a similar experience that "transformed his life and defined his calling". As such, Laestadius "spend the rest of his life advancing his idea of Lutheran pietism, focusing his energies on marginalized groups in the northernmost regions of the Nordic countries". Laestadius called on his followers to embrace their Lutheran identity and as

5875-453: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland . The Eielsen Synod and Association of Free Lutheran Congregations are Pietist Lutheran bodies that emerged in the Pietist Lutheran movement in Norway , which was spearheaded by Hans Nielsen Hauge . In 1900, the Church of the Lutheran Brethren was founded and it adheres to Pietist Lutheran theology, emphasizing a personal conversion experience . The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus ,

6000-411: The Evangelical Synod of North America , which is now a part of the United Church of Christ .) In the middle of the 19th century, Lars Levi Laestadius spearheaded a Pietist revival in Scandinavia that upheld what came to be known as Laestadian Lutheran theology , which is heralded today by the Laestadian Lutheran Church as well as by several congregations within mainstream Lutheran Churches, such as

6125-485: The Fall of Communism , the dissolution of the Soviet Union , German reunification and Die Wende ("the turning point"). United Germany was considered the enlarged continuation of West Germany so it retained its memberships in international organisations. Based on the Berlin/Bonn Act (1994), Berlin again became the capital of Germany, while Bonn obtained the unique status of a Bundesstadt (federal city) retaining some federal ministries. The relocation of

6250-513: The Imperial Estates . The legal system initiated by a series of Imperial Reforms (approximately 1495–1555) provided for considerable local autonomy and a stronger Imperial Diet . The House of Habsburg held the imperial crown from 1438 until the death of Charles VI in 1740. Following the War of the Austrian Succession and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle , Charles VI's daughter Maria Theresa ruled as empress consort when her husband, Francis I , became emperor. From 1740, dualism between

6375-467: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact that divided Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland , beginning World War II in Europe ; Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September. In the spring of 1940, Germany conquered Denmark and Norway , the Netherlands , Belgium , Luxembourg , and France , forcing the French government to sign an armistice . The British repelled German air attacks in

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6500-459: The Old Order River Brethren and the United Zion Church ), as well as the Schwarzenau Brethren (that include Old Order groups such as the Old Brethren German Baptist , Conservative groups such as the Dunkard Brethren Church , and mainline groups such as the Church of the Brethren ). As with Moravianism , Pietism was a major influence on John Wesley and others who began the Methodist movement in 18th-century Great Britain . John Wesley

6625-422: The Pietist Lutheran movement in Norway , which was spearheaded by Hans Nielsen Hauge . In 1900, the Church of the Lutheran Brethren was founded and it adheres to Pietist Lutheran theology, emphasizing a personal conversion experience . Radical Pietism are those Christian Churches who decided to break with denominational Lutheranism in order to emphasize certain teachings regarding holy living. Churches in

6750-430: The Saarland in 1935, remilitarised the Rhineland in 1936, annexed Austria in 1938, annexed the Sudetenland in 1938 with the Munich Agreement , and in violation of the agreement occupied Czechoslovakia in March 1939. Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) saw the burning of synagogues, the destruction of Jewish businesses, and mass arrests of Jewish people. In August 1939, Hitler's government negotiated

6875-423: The Salian emperors (1024–1125), although the emperors lost power through the Investiture controversy . Under the Hohenstaufen emperors (1138–1254), German princes encouraged German settlement to the south and east ( Ostsiedlung ). Members of the Hanseatic League , mostly north German towns, prospered in the expansion of trade. The population declined starting with the Great Famine in 1315, followed by

7000-540: The School of Salamanca Lutheran scholasticism during Lutheran orthodoxy Ramism among the Reformed orthodoxy Metaphysical poets in the Church of England The Jesuits against Jansenism Labadists against the Jesuits Pietism against orthodox Lutherans Nadere Reformatie within Dutch Calvinism Richard Hooker against the Ramists Neologists against Lutherans Spinozists against Dutch Calvinists Deists against Anglicanism John Locke against Bishop Stillingfleet The subject

7125-543: The Swabian Jura , including 42,000-year-old flutes which are the oldest musical instruments ever found, the 40,000-year-old Lion Man , and the 41,000-year-old Venus of Hohle Fels . The Nebra sky disk , created during the European Bronze Age , has been attributed to a German site. The Germanic peoples are thought to have emerged from the Jastorf culture during the Nordic Bronze Age or early Iron Age . From southern Scandinavia and northern Germany , they expanded south, east, and west, coming into contact with

7250-450: The Triple Alliance of 1882 included Italy. Britain, France and Russia also concluded alliances to protect against Habsburg interference with Russian interests in the Balkans or German interference against France. At the Berlin Conference in 1884, Germany claimed several colonies including German East Africa , German South West Africa , Togoland , and Kamerun . Later, Germany further expanded its colonial empire to include holdings in

7375-424: The United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America met in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , on December 17, 1900, and organized a synod named the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. Its constitution was patterned after that of the Lutheran Free Church of Norway . The Lutheran Bible School, forerunner of the current schools in Minnesota , was founded in 1903 in Wahpeton, North Dakota . The CLBA emphasizes the foundational place of

7500-453: The capitalist economy , Merton argued for a similar positive correlation between the rise of Protestant Pietism and early experimental science. The Merton Thesis has resulted in continuous debates. In the United States, Richard L. McCormick says, "In the nineteenth century voters whose religious heritage was pietistic or evangelical were prone to support the Whigs and, later, the Republicans." Paul Kleppner generalizes, "the more pietistic

7625-448: The font , the pulpit , the confessional , and the altar as "the four dumb idols of the Lutheran Church"; the theologian Johann Valentin Andrea , court chaplain of the Landgrave of Hesse; Schuppius, who sought to restore the Bible to its place in the pulpit; and Theophilus Grossgebauer (d. 1661) of Rostock , who from his pulpit and by his writings raised what he called "the alarm cry of a watchman in Sion ". The direct originator of

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7750-417: The inquisitorial Federal Court of Justice for civil and criminal cases, along with the Federal Labour Court , Federal Social Court , Federal Fiscal Court , and Federal Administrative Court for other matters. Criminal and private laws are codified on the national level in the Strafgesetzbuch and the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch respectively. The German penal system seeks the rehabilitation of

7875-418: The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist , and also heavily emphasize Confession . Uniquely, Laestadian Lutherans "discourage watching television, attending movies, dancing, playing card games or games of chance, and drinking alcoholic beverages", as well as avoiding birth control – Laestadian Lutheran families usually have four to ten children. Laestadian Lutherans gather in a central location for weeks at

8000-428: The revolutions of 1848 in the German states , raising the German question. King Frederick William IV of Prussia was offered the title of emperor, but with a loss of power; he rejected the crown and the proposed constitution, a temporary setback for the movement. King William I appointed Otto von Bismarck as the Minister President of Prussia in 1862. Bismarck successfully concluded the war with Denmark in 1864 ;

8125-401: The 1600s after the writings of Johann Arndt, Philipp Jakob Spener, and August Hermann Francke became popular. Pietistic Lutheranism gained patronage under Archbishop Erik Benzelius , who encouraged the Pietistic Lutheran practices. Laestadian Lutheranism , a form of Pietistic Lutheranism, continues to flourish in Scandinavia, where Church of Sweden priest Lars Levi Laestadius spearheaded

8250-471: The 18th-century foundation of evangelicalism , an interdenominational movement within Protestantism that today has some 300 million followers. In the middle of the 19th century, Lars Levi Laestadius spearheaded a Pietist revival in Scandinavia that upheld what came to be known as Laestadian Lutheran theology , which is adhered to today by the Laestadian Lutheran Churches as well as by several congregations within other mainstream Lutheran Churches, such as

8375-411: The Austrian Habsburg monarchy and the Kingdom of Prussia dominated German history. In 1772, 1793, and 1795, Prussia and Austria, along with the Russian Empire , agreed to the Partitions of Poland . During the period of the French Revolutionary Wars , the Napoleonic era and the subsequent final meeting of the Imperial Diet , most of the Free Imperial Cities were annexed by dynastic territories;

8500-437: The German Bundestag , though they have never been part of the federal government. In the 2017 German federal election , the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany gained enough votes to attain representation in the parliament for the first time. Germany is a federation and comprises sixteen constituent states which are collectively referred to as Länder . Each state ( Land ) has its own constitution, and

8625-428: The Holocaust , the German government persecuted minorities , including interning them in concentration and death camps across Europe. The regime systematically murdered 6 million Jews, at least 130,000 Romani , 275,000 disabled , thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses , thousands of homosexuals , and hundreds of thousands of political and religious opponents . Nazi policies in German-occupied countries resulted in

8750-539: The Lutheran Brethren has 123 congregations with about 8,860 baptized members in the United States (114) and Canada (9), as well as about 1,500 congregations in Cameroon , Chad , Japan , and Taiwan . Its offices, the Lutheran Brethren Seminary , the Lutheran Center For Christian Learning, and the Hillcrest Lutheran Academy are located in Fergus Falls, Minnesota . The CLBA publishes a bimonthly magazine called Faith & Fellowship . The CLBA has been led by President Paul Larson since 2014. The CLBA has been involved in

8875-411: The Lutheran and Reformed churches in Prussia to unite; they took the name "Evangelical" as a name both groups had previously identified with. This union movement spread through many German lands in the 1800s. Pietism, with its looser attitude toward confessional theology, had opened the churches to the possibility of uniting. The unification of the two branches of German Protestantism sparked the Schism of

9000-535: The Old Lutherans . Many Lutherans, called Old Lutherans formed free churches or emigrated to the United States and Australia , where they formed bodies that would later become the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and the Lutheran Church of Australia , respectively. (Many immigrants to America, who agreed with the union movement, formed German Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed congregations, later combined into

9125-617: The Pacific and China. The colonial government in South West Africa (present-day Namibia ), from 1904 to 1907, carried out the annihilation of the local Herero and Namaqua peoples as punishment for an uprising; this was the 20th century's first genocide . The assassination of Austria's crown prince on 28 June 1914 provided the pretext for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia and trigger World War I . After four years of warfare, in which approximately two million German soldiers were killed,

9250-664: The Pacific. On 11 August 1919, President Friedrich Ebert signed the democratic Weimar Constitution . In the subsequent struggle for power, communists seized power in Bavaria , but conservative elements elsewhere attempted to overthrow the Republic in the Kapp Putsch . Street fighting in the major industrial centres, the occupation of the Ruhr by Belgian and French troops, and a period of hyperinflation followed. A debt restructuring plan and

9375-561: The Pietist movement. In 1900, the Church of the Lutheran Brethren was founded and it adheres to Pietist Lutheran theology, emphasizing a personal conversion experience . Pietistic Lutheranism influenced existing Lutheran denominations such as the Church of Norway and many Pietistic Lutherans have remained in them, though other Pietistic Lutherans have established their own Synods too. In

9500-1091: The Radical Pietist movement include the Mennonite Brethren Church , Community of True Inspiration (Inspirationalists), the Baptist General Conference , members of the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches (such as the Evangelical Covenant Church and the Evangelical Free Church ), the Templers , the River Brethren (inclusive of the Brethren in Christ Church , the Calvary Holiness Church ,

9625-583: The Reichstag after a special election in 1932 and Hindenburg appointed Hitler as chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933. After the Reichstag fire , a decree abrogated basic civil rights and the first Nazi concentration camp opened. On 23 March 1933, the Enabling Act gave Hitler unrestricted legislative power, overriding the constitution, and marked the beginning of Nazi Germany. His government established

9750-552: The Scriptures of a practical and devotional character, and in the German language , which were zealously frequented by both students and townsmen. The lectures aroused the ill-will of the other theologians and pastors of Leipzig, and Francke and his friends left the city, and with the aid of Christian Thomasius and Spener founded the new University of Halle . The theological chairs in the new university were filled in complete conformity with Spener's proposals. The main difference between

9875-653: The Soviets pushed into Eastern Europe ; the Western allies landed in France and entered Germany despite a final German counteroffensive . Following Hitler's suicide during the Battle of Berlin , Germany signed the surrender document on 8 May 1945, ending World War II in Europe and Nazi Germany. Following the end of the war, surviving Nazi officials were tried for war crimes at the Nuremberg trials . In what later became known as

10000-666: The West, based in Gravois, Missouri , later German Evangelical Synod of North America and still later the Evangelical and Reformed Church , a precursor of the United Church of Christ .) The church president from 1901 to 1914 was a pietist named Jakob Pister. Some vestiges of Pietism were still present in 1957 at the time of the formation of the United Church of Christ. In the 21st century Pietism

10125-475: The communist-controlled Socialist Unity Party of Germany , supported by the Stasi , an immense secret service. While East German propaganda was based on the benefits of the GDR's social programmes and the alleged threat of a West German invasion, many of its citizens looked to the West for freedom and prosperity. The Berlin Wall , built in 1961, prevented East German citizens from escaping to West Germany, becoming

10250-483: The court-chaplaincy at Dresden , which opened to him a wider though more difficult sphere of labor. In Leipzig , a society of young theologians was formed under his influence for the learned study and devout application of the Bible. Three magistrates belonging to that society, one of whom was August Hermann Francke , subsequently the founder of the famous orphanage at Halle (1695), commenced courses of expository lectures on

10375-462: The creation of a new currency in 1924 ushered in the Golden Twenties , an era of artistic innovation and liberal cultural life. The worldwide Great Depression hit Germany in 1929. Chancellor Heinrich Brüning 's government pursued a policy of fiscal austerity and deflation which caused unemployment of nearly 30% by 1932. The Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler became the largest party in

10500-466: The creation of a more unified European political, economic and security apparatus. The governments of Germany and the United States are close political allies . Cultural ties and economic interests have crafted a bond between the two countries resulting in Atlanticism . After 1990, Germany and Russia worked together to establish a "strategic partnership" in which energy development became one of

10625-536: The criminal and the protection of the public. With the exceptions of petty crimes, tried by a single professional judge, and of serious political crimes, all charges are adjudicated by mixed tribunals where lay judges ( Schöffen ) and professional judges preside together. As of 2016, Germany's murder rate stood at a low of 1.18 murders per 100,000. In 2018, the overall crime rate fell to its lowest since 1992. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Germany since 2017, and LGBT rights are generally protected in

10750-461: The deaths of an estimated 2.7 million Poles , 1.3 million Ukrainians , 1 million Belarusians and 3.5 million Soviet prisoners of war . German military casualties have been estimated at 5.3 million, and around 900,000 German civilians died. Around 12 million ethnic Germans were expelled from across Eastern Europe, and Germany lost roughly one-quarter of its pre-war territory. After Nazi Germany surrendered,

10875-619: The early 1950s. West Germany joined NATO in 1955 and was a founding member of the European Economic Community . On 1 January 1957, the Saarland joined West Germany. East Germany was an Eastern Bloc state under political and military control by the Soviet Union via occupation forces and the Warsaw Pact . Although East Germany claimed to be a democracy, political power was exercised solely by leading members ( Politbüro ) of

11000-681: The ecclesiastical territories were secularised and annexed. In 1806 the Imperium was dissolved; France, Russia, Prussia, and the Habsburgs (Austria) competed for hegemony in the German states during the Napoleonic Wars . Following the fall of Napoleon , the Congress of Vienna founded the German Confederation, a loose league of 39 sovereign states . The appointment of the emperor of Austria as

11125-1006: The established Lutheran Churches. Some of the theological tenets of Pietism also influenced other traditions of Protestantism , inspiring the Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement and Alexander Mack to begin the Anabaptist Schwarzenau Brethren movement. The word pietism (in lower case spelling) is also used to refer to an "emphasis on devotional experience and practices", or an "affectation of devotion", "pious sentiment, especially of an exaggerated or affected nature", not necessarily connected with Lutheranism or even Christianity. Pietistic Lutherans meet together in conventicles , "apart from Divine Service in order to mutually encourage piety". They believe "that any true Christian could point back in his or her life to an inner struggle with sin that culminated in

11250-600: The establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship , World War II , and the Holocaust . In 1949, after the war and a period of Allied occupation , Germany was organized into two separate polities with limited sovereignty: the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany , and the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany . Berlin continued its de jure Four Power status . The Federal Republic of Germany

11375-435: The first Pietist missionary to India. Spener stressed the necessity of a new birth and separation of Christians from the world (see Asceticism ). Many Pietists maintained that the new birth always had to be preceded by agonies of repentance, and that only a regenerated theologian could teach theology. The whole school shunned all common worldly amusements, such as dancing, the theatre, and public games. Some believe this led to

11500-405: The foundations for the movement. Although Spener did not directly advocate the quietistic , legalistic, and semi-separatist practices of Pietism, they were more or less involved in the positions he assumed or the practices which he encouraged. Pietism spread from Germany to Switzerland, the rest of German-speaking Europe, and to Scandinavia and the Baltics, where it was heavily influential, leaving

11625-597: The government was completed in 1999, and modernisation of the East German economy was scheduled to last until 2019. Since reunification, Germany has taken a more active role in the European Union , signing the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and the Lisbon Treaty in 2007, and co-founding the eurozone . Germany sent a peacekeeping force to secure stability in the Balkans and sent German troops to Afghanistan as part of

11750-608: The group's outlook the more intensely Republican its partisan affiliation." McCormick notes that the key link between religious values and politics resulted from the "urge of evangelicals and Pietists to 'reach out and purge the world of sin'". Pietism became influential among Scandinavian Lutherans; additionally it affected other denominations in the United States, such as the Northern Methodists , Northern Baptists , Congregationalists , Presbyterians , Disciples of Christ , and some smaller groups. The great majority were based in

11875-743: The laity receive absolution from the pastor. In addition to the denominational statement of faith, the church adheres to the following historic confessions: the Apostles' Creed , Nicene , and Athanasian creeds, the Augsburg Confession , and Luther's Small Catechism . Its strong emphasis on missions and evangelism and its stand for non-liturgical worship and a church composed only of confessing Christians differentiate it from most Lutherans in America. The CLBA considers itself to be "Lutheran in theological tradition and evangelical in practice". The Church of

12000-551: The last attempt to save Christianity as a religion: Given that for him religion was a negative term, more or less an opposite to revelation , this constitutes a rather scathing judgment. Bonhoeffer denounced the basic aim of Pietism, to produce a "desired piety" in a person, as unbiblical. Pietism is considered the major influence that led to the creation of the " Evangelical Church of the Union " in Prussia in 1817. The King of Prussia ordered

12125-604: The middle of the 19th century, Lars Levi Laestadius spearheaded a Pietist revival in Scandinavia that upheld what came to be known as Laestadian Lutheran theology , which is adhered to today by the Laestadian Lutheran Churches as well as by several congregations within other mainstream Lutheran Churches, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland . The Eielsen Synod and Association of Free Lutheran Congregations are Pietist Lutheran bodies that emerged in

12250-469: The most important factors. As a result of the cooperation, Germany imported most of its natural gas and crude oil from Russia. Germany's development policy functions as a distinct sector within its foreign policy framework. It is formulated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and carried out by the implementing organisations. The German government sees development policy as

12375-613: The movement was Philipp Spener . Born at Rappoltsweiler in Alsace, now in France, on 13 January 1635, trained by a devout godmother who used books of devotion like Arndt's True Christianity , Spener was convinced of the necessity of a moral and religious reformation within German Lutheranism. He studied theology at Strasbourg , where the professors at the time (and especially Sebastian Schmidt) were more inclined to "practical" Christianity than to theological disputation. He afterwards spent

12500-641: The nation. Germany has a network of 227 diplomatic missions abroad and maintains relations with more than 190 countries. Germany is a member of NATO , the OECD , the G7 , the G20 , the World Bank and the IMF . It has played an influential role in the European Union since its inception and has maintained a strong alliance with France and all neighbouring countries since 1990. Germany promotes

12625-434: The new Pietistic Lutheran school and the orthodox Lutherans arose from the Pietists' conception of Christianity as chiefly consisting in a change of heart and consequent holiness of life. Orthodox Lutherans rejected this viewpoint as a gross simplification, stressing the need for the church and for sound theological underpinnings. Spener died in 1705, but the movement, guided by Francke and fertilized from Halle, spread through

12750-639: The north, Poland and Czechia to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France , Luxembourg , Belgium , and the Netherlands to the west. Germany is also bordered by the North Sea and, at the north-northeast, by the Baltic Sea. German territory covers 357,596 km (138,069 sq mi). Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Alps (highest point: the Zugspitze at 2,963 metres or 9,721 feet) in

12875-706: The northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity . A region named Germania was documented before AD 100. In 962, the Kingdom of Germany formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire . During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation . Following the Napoleonic Wars and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the German Confederation

13000-799: The northern states; some of these groups in the South would rather support the Democrats. In England in the late 19th and early 20th century, the Nonconformist Protestant denominations, such as the Methodists, Baptists and Congregationalists, formed the base of the Liberal Party . David Hempton states, "The Liberal Party was the main beneficiary of Methodist political loyalties." Protestant Reformation Counter-Reformation Aristotelianism Scholasticism Patristics Second scholasticism of

13125-411: The orthodoxy via new media and formats: Periodical journals gained importance versus the former pasquills and single thesis, traditional disputation was replaced by competitive debating, which tried to gain new knowledge instead of defending orthodox scholarship. As a distinct movement, Pietism had its greatest strength by the middle of the 18th century; its very individualism in fact helped to prepare

13250-587: The party system has been dominated by the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party of Germany . So far every chancellor has been a member of one of these parties. However, the smaller liberal Free Democratic Party and the Alliance 90/The Greens have also been junior partners in coalition governments . Since 2007, the democratic socialist party The Left has been a staple in

13375-472: The permanent president reflected the Congress's rejection of Prussia 's rising influence. Disagreement within restoration politics partly led to the rise of liberal movements, followed by new measures of repression by Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich . The Zollverein , a tariff union, furthered economic unity. In light of revolutionary movements in Europe , intellectuals and commoners started

13500-436: The principle of 'guidance by inner light' was often a signal to follow the most intense of her inner sentiments… the supremacy of feeling over reason". Religious authorities could bring pressure on pietists, such as when they brought some of Magny's followers before the local consistory to answer questions about their unorthodox views or when they banished Magny from Vevey for heterodoxy in 1713. Likewise, pietism challenged

13625-409: The public tranquility or to promote a mysticism so nebulous as to obscure the imperatives of morality. A movement which cultivated religious feeling almost as an end itself". While some pietists (such as Francis Magny) held that "mysticism and the moral law went together", for others (like his pupil Françoise-Louise de la Tour) "pietist mysticism did less to reinforce the moral law than to take its place…

13750-460: The revival in the 19th century. As the forerunners of the Pietists in the strict sense, certain voices had been heard bewailing the shortcomings of the church and advocating a revival of practical and devout Christianity. Amongst them were the Christian mystic Jakob Böhme (Behmen); Johann Arndt , whose work, True Christianity , became widely known and appreciated; Heinrich Müller , who described

13875-601: The south to the shores of the North Sea ( Nordsee ) in the northwest and the Baltic Sea ( Ostsee ) in the northeast. The forested uplands of central Germany and the lowlands of northern Germany (lowest point: in the municipality Neuendorf-Sachsenbande , Wilstermarsch at 3.54 metres or 11.6 feet below sea level ) are traversed by such major rivers as the Rhine, Danube and Elbe. Significant natural resources include iron ore, coal, potash , timber, lignite , uranium , copper, natural gas, salt, and nickel. Most of Germany has

14000-640: The south, and France , Luxembourg , Belgium , and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt ; the largest urban area is the Ruhr . Settlement in the territory of modern Germany began in the Lower Paleolithic , with various tribes inhabiting it from the Neolithic onward, chiefly the Celts . Various Germanic tribes have inhabited

14125-955: The southeast regions have more extreme temperatures. From February 2019 – 2020, average monthly temperatures in Germany ranged from a low of 3.3 °C (37.9 °F) in January 2020 to a high of 19.8 °C (67.6 °F) in June 2019. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 30 litres per square metre in February and April 2019 to 125 litres per square metre in February 2020. Average monthly hours of sunshine ranged from 45 in November 2019 to 300 in June 2019. The territory of Germany can be divided into five terrestrial ecoregions : Atlantic mixed forests , Baltic mixed forests , Central European mixed forests , Western European broadleaf forests , and Alps conifer and mixed forests . As of 2016 , 51% of Germany's land area

14250-449: The standardization of the language; the 1555 Peace of Augsburg tolerated the "Evangelical" faith ( Lutheranism ), but also decreed that the faith of the prince was to be the faith of his subjects ( cuius regio, eius religio ). From the Cologne War through the Thirty Years' Wars (1618–1648), religious conflict devastated German lands and significantly reduced the population. The Peace of Westphalia ended religious warfare among

14375-429: The subsequent decisive Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 enabled him to create the North German Confederation which excluded Austria . After the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War , the German princes proclaimed the founding of the German Empire in 1871. Prussia was the dominant constituent state of the new empire; the King of Prussia ruled as its Kaiser, and Berlin became its capital. In

14500-417: The various manifestations of evangelicalism: fundamentalism, neo-evangelicalism, the holiness movement, Pentecostalism, the charismatic movement , and various forms of African-American and Hispanic evangelicalism. The Merton Thesis is an argument about the nature of early experimental science proposed by Robert K. Merton . Similar to Max Weber 's famous claim on the link between Protestant ethic and

14625-406: The way for the Enlightenment ( Aufklärung ), which took the church in an altogether different direction. Yet some claim that Pietism contributed largely to the revival of Biblical studies in Germany and to making religion once more an affair of the heart and of life and not merely of the intellect. It likewise gave a new emphasis to the role of the laity in the church. Rudolf Sohm claimed that "It

14750-468: The western Rhineland had been incorporated into Roman provinces . Around 260, Germanic peoples broke into Roman-controlled lands. After the invasion of the Huns in 375, and with the decline of Rome from 395, Germanic tribes moved farther southwest: the Franks established the Frankish Kingdom and pushed east to subjugate Saxony and Bavaria . Areas of what is today eastern Germany were inhabited by Western Slavic tribes. Charlemagne founded

14875-402: The whole of Middle and North Germany. Among its greatest achievements, apart from the philanthropic institutions founded at Halle, were the revival of the Moravian Church in 1727 by Count von Zinzendorf , formerly a pupil in Francke's School for Young Noblemen in Halle, and the establishment of Protestant missions. In particular, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (10 July 1682 – 23 February 1719) became

15000-439: The word Teutons also originates. Pre-human ancestors, the Danuvius guggenmosi , who were present in Germany over 11 million years ago, are theorized to be among the earliest ones to walk on two legs. Ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The first non-modern human fossil (the Neanderthal ) was discovered in the Neander Valley . Similarly dated evidence of modern humans has been found in

15125-408: Was a founding member of the European Economic Community and the European Union , while the German Democratic Republic was a communist Eastern Bloc state and member of the Warsaw Pact . After the fall of the communist led-government in East Germany, German reunification saw the former East German states join the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990 . Germany has been described as

15250-412: Was formed in 1815. Formal unification of Germany into the modern nation-state commenced on 18 August 1866 with the North German Confederation Treaty establishing the Prussia -led North German Confederation , which became the German Empire in 1871. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic . The Nazi rise to power in 1933 led to

15375-533: Was influenced significantly by Moravians (e.g., Zinzendorf , Peter Boehler ) and Pietists connected to Francke and Halle Pietism. The fruit of these Pietist influences can be seen in the modern American Methodists, especially those who are aligned with the Holiness movement . Pietism had an influence on religion in America, as many German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, New York, and other areas. Its influence can be traced in certain sectors of Evangelicalism . Balmer says that: Evangelicalism itself, I believe,

15500-444: Was the seventh-highest in the world . In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that German military expenditure would be increased past the NATO target of 2%, along with a one-time 2022 infusion of 100 billion euros, representing almost double the 53 billion euro military budget for 2021. In 2023, military spending according to NATO criteria amounted to $ 73.1 billion, or 1.64% of

15625-408: Was the last great surge of the waves of the ecclesiastical movement begun by the Reformation ; it was the completion and the final form of the Protestantism created by the Reformation. Then came a time when another intellectual power took possession of the minds of men." Dietrich Bonhoeffer of the German Confessing Church framed the same characterization in less positive terms when he called Pietism

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