Dialogue as a Strategy of Struggle: Religious Politics in East Germany, 1957–1968

This article argues that the topos of dialogue between Christians and Marxists fulfilled a key role in the creation and maintenance of power relations in religious politics in East Germany. Three case studies illustrate the topos of dialogue as a strategy of struggle: 1. the campaign against ‘revisi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Contemporary European history 2020-05, Vol.29 (2), p.171-186
Main Author: Tóth, Heléna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case studies
Christianity
Communism
Cooperation
Differentiation
Ideology
Liberalization
Morality
Politics
Power
Protestant churches
Religion & politics
Revisionism
Socialism
Theologians
Theology
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Summary:This article argues that the topos of dialogue between Christians and Marxists fulfilled a key role in the creation and maintenance of power relations in religious politics in East Germany. Three case studies illustrate the topos of dialogue as a strategy of struggle: 1. the campaign against ‘revisionism’ and ‘politicised religion’; 2. the church policy strategy of ‘differentiation’; 3. the critique of the phenomena commonly associated with the Christian–Marxist dialogue outside East Germany in the mid-1960s. These instances of socialist religious politics, while having their own dynamics, were closely related through specific actors and argumentative strategies.
ISSN:0960-7773
1469-2171
DOI:10.1017/S0960777320000065