200 Years of Practical Theology in Tübingen

The many transitions between practice and theology and the chequered history of the subject in the field of tension between science and religion are the subject of a volume on the history of Practical Theology, in which Tübingen comes under closer scrutiny as a case study.

Birgit Weyel examines the founding of the Predigeranstalt (Preaching Seminary) by Jonathan Friedrich Bahnmaier between 1815 and 1817. Bahnmaier insisted on real exercises, sermons to Tübingen citizens from all classes, which were made the subject of academic teaching. The Predigeranstalt should essentially be understood as an educational association that students joined voluntarily.

“Nicht blos exercitii causa”. Die Predigeranstalt als universitärer Ort praktisch-theologischer Bildung durch wirkliche Übungen für alle (53–73)

(“Not merely exercitii causa”. The Preaching Institute as a University Centre for Practical Theological Education through Real Exercises for All)

The book has been published under the title: 200 Jahre Praktische Theologie: Fallstudien zur Geschichte der Disziplin an der Universität Tübingen (Praktische Theologie in Geschichte und Gegenwart 28), Tübingen 2018. Editors: Friedrich Schweitzer, Gerald Kretzschmar, and Birgit Weyel.