Religion and politics in German education: being a study of religion and politics in German education with particular reference to West Germany in the period 1945-73

Abstract

This thesis investigates and interrelationships and interaction of significant religious and political influences on the reform of education in Germany with particular reference to the post war period in West Germany, as manifested mainly in the work and aspirations of the Evangelical and Catholic Churches and the major political parties. After a brief exposition of the methodology of the study, the aetiology of the influence of the above groups on the field of education is traced through the Weimar period into the National Socialist period. In Parts Three and Four a broad conceptual framework is introduced and developments are considered in terms of ideological, curricular, organisational and policy-making categorized. In spite of the initiative of the Allies a general tendency to conserve and restore is detected in the early post-war era but the ideological groundwork for reform-oriented policies and growth is seen as being set down in the latter part of this period. A change of course in West German cultural and social development is argued to have occurred in the mid 1960’s after which an increasing tendency for the influence of the churches to recede in the state system of education at the organizational level is identified. The main area of conflict in the period from 1965 is seen as shifting to the curricular and policy making fields. Part Five seeks to relate the cultural changes which were identified in Parts Three and Four to broader social and cultural change. The dialectical relationship between education, religion and politics and broader cultural and social change is described and a general movement towards democratization is discerned, although a caveat is entered concerning alternative interpretations of the phenomena described. The work concludes with an assessment of the study, its methodology and future pressing research needs.