Adolf Keller (February 1872 – 10 February 1963) was a Swiss

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

and Secretary-General of the European Central Office for Ecclesiastical Aid. Born in

Rüdlingen Rüdlingen is a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. History Rüdlingen is first mentioned in 827 as ''Ruodiningun''. Geography Rüdlingen has an area, , of . Of this area, 47.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while ...

, the son of Johann Georg Keller and Margaretha Buchter, he attended high school in

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...

, studied theology in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with

Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...

and

Adolf Schlatter Adolf Schlatter (16 August 1852 – 19 May 1938) was a world-leading Protestant theologian and professor specialising in the New Testament and systematics at Greifswald, Berlin and Tübingen. Schlatter has published more than 400 scholarly and po ...

, and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

and later

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. After his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

in 1896, he served as a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

for the Protestant community in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

(1896), in Burg,

Stein am Rhein Stein am Rhein (abbreviated as Stein a. R.) is a historic town and a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The town's medieval centre retains the ancient street plan. The site of the city wall, and the city gates are preserve ...

(1899) and then in Geneva (1904), where he met and befriended

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...

as his vicar, and finally at St Peter's parish church in Zurich. He was a friend of Sigmund

Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts in ...

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...

, and

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schwei ...

– and thus was influenced by the spiritual tendencies of the twentieth century. Keller was one of the first pastors to become interested in

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

and met Jung in 1907, and later at the fourth psychoanalytical congress in Munich 1912, where he witnessed the break between Sigmund Freud and C.G. Jung. He took sides with Jung, since he found Freud's claim that every

neurosis Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

stemmed from sexual trauma too one sided. He then played an active role in the ‘Zurich school’ and in the Psychological Club giving lectures. Keller occupied a key position as the first German-speaking secretary of the Swiss Federation of Protestant Churches (1941) founded in 1920. In addition, he served until 1945 as Secretary-General of the European Central Office for Ecclesiastical Aid, founded in 1922, and dedicated to the Europe and Russian, Armenian, Assyrian-born and "non-Aryan" refugees. Adolf Keller left a rich literary work. In addition to publications on the

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

movement, it also includes an introduction to the philosophy of

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson

, contributions to the relationship between psychoanalysis and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and several volumes in which "secular devotions" are collected. He received the

Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

of the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

in 1922 and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1927. Adolf Keller emigrated to Evanston, California, in 1954. He was married to

Tina Keller-Jenny Tina Keller-Jenny (born June 17, 1887 in Schwanden, Switzerland, died October 25, 1985 in Geneva) was a Swiss physician and Jungian psychotherapist who witnessed firsthand the development of analytical psychology during its formative years. B ...

and died on February 10, 1963, in Los Angeles, three days after his 91st birthday. Keller is buried at the

Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California 90068, in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. Histor ...

Works (a selection)

* Karl Barth and Christian unity: the influence of the Barthian movement upon the churches of the world, * Five minutes to twelve: a spiritual interpretation of the Oxford and Edinburgh Conferences, Cokesbury Press, 2013, * ''Eine Philosophie des Lebens (Henri Bergson).'' Diederichs, Jena 1914. * ''Dynamis. Formen und Kräfte des amerikanischen Protestantismus.'' Mohr, Tübingen 1921. * ''Die Kirchen und der Friede mit besonderer Berücksichtigung ihrer Stellung zum Völkerbund.'' Furche, Berlin 1927. * ''Auf der Schwelle. Einsichten und Ausblicke in die tiefere Wirklichkeit.'' Wanderer-Verlag, Zürich 1929. * ''Der Weg der dialektischen Theologie durch die kirchliche Welt. Eine kleine Kirchenkunde der Gegenwart.'' Kaiser, München 1931. * ''Vom Unbekannten Gott. Not und Hoffnung der Gegenwart.'' Wanderer-Verlag, Zürich; Klotz, Gotha 1933. * ''Von Geist und Liebe. Ein Bilderbuch aus dem Leben.'' Wanderer-Verlag, Zürich; Klotz, Gotha 1937. * ''Am Fuße des Leuchtturms.'' Wanderer-Verlag, Zürich 1940. * ''Amerikanisches Christentum – heute.'' Evangelischer Verlag, Zollikon/Zürich 1943.

Literature

* Marianne Jehle-Wildberger: ''C. G. Jung und Adolf Keller. Über Theologie und Psychologie: Briefe und Gespräche.'' Theologischer Verlag Zürich, Zurich 2014, * Hermann Kocher: ''Rationierte Menschlichkeit: schweizerischer Protestantismus im Spannungsfeld von Flüchtlingsnot und öffentlicher Flüchtlingspolitik der Schweiz, 1933–1948.'' 1996. (with biography.) * Urs Leu: ''Adolf Keller (Theologe).'' In: ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' (BBKL). Band 3, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, , Sp. 1302–1305. * Birger Maiwald: ''Ökumenischer Kirchenkampf: die «Berner Erklärung» des Schweizerischen Evangelischen Kirchenbundes von 1934.'' 1997. * Rudolf Pfister:
Keller, Adolf.
' In: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (NDB). Band 11, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1977, , S. 431 f.

. * Marianne Jehle-Wildberger: ''Adolf Keller (1872-1963): Ecumenist, World Citizen, Philanthropist'', Lutterworth Press,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Adolf 1872 births 1963 deaths Swiss historians of religion 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 19th-century Calvinist and Reformed ministers University of Zurich faculty Swiss non-fiction writers Swiss theologians Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)