Gustav Mensching (6 May 1901 – 30 September 1978) was a German theologian who was Professor of Comparative Religious Studies at the
University of Bonn from 1936 to 1972.
Biography
Gustav Mensching was born in
Hanover,
Germany on 6 May 1901, the son of farmer and businessman Gustav Mensching (1869-1906) and Anna Vogler. Mensching studied
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 ...
,
Protestant theology and
religious studies at the universities of
Göttingen,
Marburg and
Berlin. He gained his
Dr. Theol.
Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
at Maburg under the supervision of
Rudolf Otto.
Mensching completed his
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
in
religious history
The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...
at the
University of Braunschweig
The Technische Universität Braunschweig (unofficially University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology), commonly referred to as TU Braunschweig, is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. ...
in 1927. The same year he married Erika Dombrowski, with whom he had two sons, the Germanist and philosopher . From 1927 to 1936, Mensching was Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the
University of Riga. In 1936 he was appointed Professor of Comparative Religious Studies at the
University of Bonn. Due to his membership in the
National Socialist German Lecturers League, Mensching was from 1946 to 1948 prohibited from teaching. has since demonstrated was Mensching was not a supporter of
Nazism. Mensching published a number of works on religion. Among his best known students were , and .
Mensching retired from the University of Bonn in 1972. He died in
Düren
Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur.
History
Roman era
The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a people ...
, Germany on 30 September 1978.
See also
*
Otto Huth
Otto Huth (9 May 1906 – 1998) was a German historian of religion and folklorist who was a member of the Ahnenerbe and held a professorial position at the Nazi Reichsuniversität Straßburg.
Early life and education
Huth was the son of a neurolog ...
Selected works
* ''Das heilige Schweigen''; 1926
* ''Die Idee der Sünde''; 1931
* ''Zum Streit um die Deutung des buddhistischen Nirvana''; 1933
* ''Zur Metaphysik des Ich''; 1934
* ''Der Katholizismus – Sein Stirb und Werde''; Herausgeber; 1937
* ''Das heilige Wort''; 1937
* ''Volksreligion und Weltreligion'';1938
* ''Vergleichende Religionswissenschaft''; 1938
* ''Allgemeine Religionsgeschichte''; 1940, 1949
2
* ''Der Schicksalsgedanke in der Religionsgeschichte''. Bonn 1942. 15 S. (Antrittsvorlesungen als Kriegsvorträge der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn; Heft 12)
* ''Soziologie der Religion''; 1947
* ''Geschichte der Religionswissenschaft''; 1948
* ''Die Religionen und die Welt''; 1947
* ''Gut und Böse im Glauben der Völker''; 1950
2
* ''Buddhistische Geisteswelt''; 1955
* ''Toleranz und Wahrheit in der Religion''; 1955; Neuausgabe, hg. von Udo Tworuschka 1996
* ''Leben und Legende der Religionsstifter''; 1955
* ''Religiöse Ursymbole der Menschheit''; 1955
* ''Die Söhne Gottes''; 1958
* ''Die Religion. Erscheinungsformen, Strukturtypen und Lebensgesetze''; 1959
* ''Idee und Aufgabe der Weltuniversität''; 1962
* ''Soziologie der großen Religionen''; 1966
* ''Topos und Typos. Motive und Strukturen religiösen Lebens''; hg. von
Hans Joachim Klimkeit
Hans may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People
* Hans (name), a masculine given name
* Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician
** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans
** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...
, 1971
* ''Die Weltreligionen''; 1972
* ''Der offene Tempel. Die Weltreligionen im Gespräch miteinander''; Stuttgart 1974
* ''Buddha und Christus''; 1978; Neuausgabe als Herder TB 2004
* ''Aufsätze und Vorträge Gustav Menschings zur Toleranz- und Wahrheitskonzeption''; Bausteine zur Mensching-Forschung 2; hrsg. v. Hamid Reza Yousefi; Würzburg 2002
* ''Der Irrtum in der Religion'' (Stuttgart 1969). Neu hrsg. mit dem neuen Untertitel: ''Eine Einführung in die Phänomenologie des Irrtums''; hrsg. von Hamid Reza Yousefi und Klaus Fischer; Nordhausen 2003
Sources
* Udo Tworuschka: ''Religionsbewertung als Problem und Aufgabe''. Die Haltung Gustav Menschings zur Religionsmessung. In: ''
Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte.'' 27, 1975, , S. 122–140.
*
* Wolfgang Gantke, Karl Hoheisel, Wilhelm P. Schneemelcher (Hrsg.): ''Religionswissenschaft im historischen Kontext.'' diagonal, Marburg 2003, ''(= Religionswissenschaftliche Reihe.'' Band 21).
* Hamid Reza Yousefi, Ina Braun: ''Gustav Mensching – Leben und Werk.'' Ein Forschungsbericht zur Toleranzkonzeption, Gewidmet Gustav Mensching anlässlich seines 100. Geburtstages. Königshausen und Neumann, Würzburg 2002, ''(= Bausteine zur Mensching-Forschung.'' Band 1).
*
* Hamid Reza Yousefi: ''Der Toleranzbegriff im Denken Gustav Menschings. Eine interkulturelle philosophische Orientierung.'' Bautz, Nordhausen 2004, ''(= Bausteine zur Mensching-Forschung.'' Band 7).
* Hamid Reza Yousefi: ''Angewandte Toleranz.'' Gustav Mensching interkulturell gelesen. Bautz, Nordhausen 2008, ''(= Interkulturelle Bibliothek.'' Band 49).
* Nikandrs Gills: ''Gustav Mensching and University of Latvia.'' In: ''The European connection. Baltic intellectuals and the history of Western philosophy and theology,'' Riga 2006, S. 44–57
*
Christian Grethlein
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...
: ''Gustav Mensching (1901–1978).'' In:
Benedikt Kranemann Benedikt may refer to:
*Benedikt, a spelling of the name Benedict
*Benedikt, Benedikt
Benedikt () is the central settlement in the Municipality of Benedikt in northeastern Slovenia. Before 1998, it was part of the Municipality of Lenart. It lies ...
/Klaus Raschzok (Hrsg.): ''Gottesdienst als Feld theologischer Wissenschaft im 20. Jahrhundert,'' Münster 2001, Bd. 2, S. 722–731
* Udo Tworuschka: ''Religionswissenschaft. Wegbereiter und Klassiker,'' Böhlau, Köln, Weimar, Wien 2011, S. 214–237.
* Udo Tworuschka: ''Einführung in die Geschichte der Religionswissenschaft,'' WBG, Darmstadt 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mensching, Gustav
1901 births
1976 deaths
German theologians
People from Hanover
Academic staff of the University of Bonn
University of Marburg alumni
Academic staff of the University of Latvia