The Augustana-Hochschule Neuendettelsau is a divinity school of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern) is a Lutheran member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany in the German state of Bavaria.
The seat of the church is in Munich. The '' Landesbischo ...
in
Neuendettelsau
Neuendettelsau is a local authority in Middle Franconia, Germany. Neuendettelsau is situated 20 miles southwest of Nuremberg and 12 miles east of Ansbach. Since 1947 it has a Lutheran seminary ( ''Augustana Hochschule'').
Diakonie Neuendettelsau ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
.
History
The Augustana-Hochschule was founded in 1947 as an outcome of the Church’s struggle with
National Socialism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...
upon decision by the ''Provincial Synod''
'Landessynode''of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Bavaria. In 1949, the Divinity school moved, quite symbolically, into the abandoned barracks that had been part of a former ammunition factory of the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
in Neuendettelsau. Since those days, the Augustana-Hochschule has grown considerably as several buildings have been added, including the architecturally fascinating round chapel and the equally interesting shell-shaped library. Still, the Divinity school with its park-like compound has retained its charme as one of the few real campus universities in Germany.
In 1973, the right to award doctoral degrees in cooperation with the theological faculties in Erlangen and Munich was conferred to the Divinity School. Since 1990, the Augustana-Hochschule can award doctoral degrees and Habilitations independently.
Status and Education
The Divinity School is independent of the state, yet recognized by the state. Students usually take up the undergraduate and graduate programs of the Augustana-Hochschule in order to become pastors in the various
Landeskirche
In Germany and Switzerland, a Landeskirche (plural: Landeskirchen) is the church of a region. The term usually refers to Protestant churches, but—in case of Switzerland—also Roman Catholic dioceses. They originated as the national churches of ...
n (regional churches) in Germany. The Divinity School has got the right to award
doctoral degrees
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
and
Habilitations. The Augustana-Hochschule is, thus, on par with theological faculties at state universities.
There are six tenured theological professors (
Old Testament,
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
,
church history
__NOTOC__
Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception.
Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...
,
systematic theology
Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topic ...
,
practical theology
Practical theology is an academic discipline that examines and reflects on religious practices in order to understand the theology enacted in those practices and in order to consider how theological theory and theological practices can be more full ...
,
Missionology), as well as one tenured professor for
philosophy and, since 2003, one tenured professor for
feminist theology
Feminist theology is a movement found in several religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Neopaganism, Baháʼí Faith, Judaism, Islam and New Thought, to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of those reli ...
. Two lecturers for
classical philology
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
(
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
,
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
) and one lecturer for
Biblical Hebrew take care of the students' education in the old languages. Additionally, several assistant professors and adjunct lecturers contribute to the variety of undergraduate and graduate courses.
Current Professors
* Heike Walz, professor for intercultural theology (since 2016)
* Markus Buntfuß, professor for systematic theology (since 2006)
* Renate Jost, professor for feminist theology (since 2003)
* Peter L. Oesterreich, professor for philosophy (since 1995)
* Klaus Raschzok, professor for practical theology (since 2003)
* Gury Schneider-Ludorff, professor for church history (since 2005)
* Christian Strecker, professor for New Testament (since 2010)
* Michael Pietsch, professor for Old Testament (since 2014)
Cooperations and Contacts
The Divinity School has close ties with the church’s social and welfare work and with its missionary work.
Furthermore, there are good contacts with the nearby Theological Faculty of the
Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
The Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU) is a Roman Catholic research university in Eichstätt and Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany.
Compared to other German universities it is a rather small institution with 4,800 students in 2019; n ...
, the
MF Norwegian School of Theology
MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society ( no, MF vitenskapelig høyskole for teologi, religion og samfunn), formerly the Free Faculty of Theology ( no, Det teologiske menighetsfakultet) and MF Norwegian School of Theology, is an accr ...
in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
(Norway) and the
Wartburg Theological Seminary
Wartburg Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Dubuque, Iowa. It offers three graduate-level degrees (MA, MA Diaconal Ministry, and M.Div.), a Theological Education for Emerging Ministries certificat ...
,
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
,
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
. The school also maintains connections with the Evangelical Lutheran Churches of
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
and Zaire through a
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need.
Scholars ...
program.
Literature
Jörg Dittmer (ed.): ''Theologie auf dem Campus. 50 Jahre Augustana-Hochschule'', Neuendettelsau 1997. (German)Gerhard Monninger (ed.): ''Eine Denkwerkstatt der Kirche. Augustana-Hochschule 1947-1987'', München 1987. (German)Gerhard Monninger (ed.): ''30 Jahre Augustana-Hochschule - einen Augenblick innehalten'', Neuendettelsau 1977. (German)
{{Authority control
Lutheran seminaries
Seminaries and theological colleges in Germany
Lutheranism in Germany
Educational institutions established in 1947
1947 establishments in Germany
Lutheran universities and colleges in Europe