1st Edition
Scientific Atheism in East Germany (1963-1990) How to Turn a Hare into a Lion
This book offers an in-depth, archive-based analysis of ‘scientific atheism’, focused on the development of the field in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Scientific atheism was established as a Soviet import in 1963 at Jena University, with a presence in East German universities, propaganda and politics for nearly thirty years. The chapters explore the sociological work done by scientific atheists such as Olof Klohr, how they defined religion and atheism, and their role as actors of atheisation in various fields. As well as reflecting on the specific religious and political context in East Germany, the author makes comparison with other communist-ruled countries. Drawing on extensive and unique documentation, the book will be of interest to scholars of atheism and secularism, religion and politics, religious history, German history, and East European studies.
Acknowledgements
List of acronyms and abbreviations
Introduction
1 Atheism, sciences and the introduction of scientific atheism in Eastern Germany
2 East German scientific atheism unveiling its contents in the 1960s
3 Scientific atheists as actors of atheisation in the 1960s
4 Recovery, upswing and upper limit of scientific atheism in the 1970s and 1980s
5 Lectures on scientific atheism in the GDR, against wide-spread indifference
6 Scientific atheism in the 1970s, between conflicts with religion and cooperation with believers
7 Towards a theoretical renewal of scientific atheism and new commitments in society in the 1980s
Conclusion
Biography
Eva Guigo-Patzelt is an associate member of CéSor - Centre d’études en sciences sociales du religieux (EHESS/CNRS) in France and a project lead within the Explaining Atheism Programme led by Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland.
