Karl Schwarz (19 November 1812 – 25 March 1885) was a German

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

theologian.

Life

Birth and early life

He was born at Wiek, Rügen. His father, Theodor Schwarz, pastor at Wiek, was well known as a preacher, and as the writer of a number of popular works (parables, romances, etc.) under the pseudonym "Theodor Melas".

University studies

Karl Schwarz studied theology and philosophy at Halle, and afterwards at

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

(1831) and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

(1832–1834). At Berlin he came under the influence of

Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional ...

and

G. W. F. Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

, whose influences are seen in his work ''Das Wesen der Religion'' (1847). In 1837 he was imprisoned for six months on account of his advanced political opinions. After his release he helped (from 1838) with the ''Hallische Jahrbücher''.

Later life and distinctions

From 1843 to 1845, he lectured at Halle, and was then suspended by the government. In 1849, however, he was appointed professor extraordinarius, and later received a number of distinctions (in 1858 chief court preacher, etc.). Schwarz took an important part in the founding and directing of the German ''

Protestantenverein The Protestantenverein (''Allgemeiner Deutscher Protestantenverein'' or ''Deutscher Protestantenverein''; DPV) was a society in Germany the general object of which was to promote the union (''Verein'') and progress of the various Protestant establi ...

'' and became an eminent exponent of liberal theology. His work ''Zur Geschichte der neuesten Theologie'' (1856, 4th ed. 1869) is a valuable source for the history of theology in Germany. His other works include ''Lessing als Theologe'' (1854) and ''Grundriss der christlichen Lehre'' (1873, 5th ed. 1876). In his memory, a Karl-Schwarz-Stiftung was founded in connection with the theological faculty at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

1911 Britannica references

* G. Rudloff, ''Karl Schwarz'' (1887); * F. Hummel, ''Zur Bedeutung der Schrift von Karl Schwarz: Uber das Wesen der Religion'' (1890); * Herzog-Hauck, ''Realencyklopädie''.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Karl 1812 births 1885 deaths People from Vorpommern-Rügen 19th-century German Protestant theologians Members of the Frankfurt Parliament People from the Province of Pomerania Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg University of Bonn alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers