Drewermann during his first US lecture series in 1999
Eugen Drewermann (born 20 June 1940) is a German church critic, theologian, peace activist and former Catholic priest. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages.
Drewermann was born in Bergkamen near Dortmund. He is best known in Germany for his work toward a non-violent form of Christianity, which, he believes, requires an integration of Depth psychology into Exegesis and Theology. Trained in philosophy, theology, psychoanalysis, and comparative religious studies, he criticized the Roman Catholic Church's literal and biologistic interpretations of miracles, the virgin birth, Ascension, and Resurrection as superstitious and medieval. He called on Rome to understand biblical stories symbolically in such a way that they can become present and healing to readers today. Drewermann's controversial opinions on Catholic dogma, especially the Virgin birth of Jesus lead to a letter expressing "deep worry," in 1986 by Cardinal Ratzinger,[1] later Pope Benedict XVI, to Drewermann's archbishop, Johannes Joachim Degenhardt.
The struggle propelled Drewermann into the public limelight and culminated in 1991 after he published a radical critique of what he considers to be the Vatican's psychologically cruel and mentally enslaving clergy ideal (Kleriker: Psychogramm eines Ideals [Clergy: Psychogram of an ideal]). Archbishop Degenhardt of Paderborn and the Catholic Bishops Conference of Germany engaged in a long drawn-out and heated debate with Drewermann which was closely followed by media and public. As a consequence, on 7 October 1991, the Archbishop disallowed him to teach at the Catholic Seminary of Paderborn and, shortly afterwards, revoked his license to preach in 1992.
Drewermann has uttered strong and controversial political opinions. He was against the Gulf War, the Iraq War, German participation in the NATO war against Afghanistan, and Israeli Air Raids during the 2006 Lebanon War. In the name of the German Peace Movement, he asked to abolish not only Walter Mixa's office as Military Bishop of Germany but the German military, the Bundeswehr, as such.[2] Drewermann has signed public calls to support the Linkspartei and delivers speeches on conferences and protest demonstrations of the left.[3]
Drewermann left the Catholic Church on his 65th birthday on 20 June 2005, a decision he announced on Sandra Maischberger's talk show on German television.[4]
^A Violent God-Image: An Introduction to the Work of Eugen Drewermann, p. 17.Beier, M. (2006).
^"Speech at the Easter march 2008 in Bremen on March 22nd". archiv.friedenskooperative.de. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
^"Spiel mir das Lied vom Sozialismus". FOCUS online (in German). 12 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
^Menschen bei Maischberger: 2005 – Schluss mit lustig? ARD-Sendung vom 13. Dezember 2005
EugenDrewermann (born 20 June 1940) is a German church critic, theologian, peace activist and former Catholic priest. His work has been translated into...
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that they have touched infinity." The radical Catholic theologian EugenDrewermann developed a two-volume critique of traditional conceptions of God and...
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Heart: Non-violence and the Dialogue among Religions), co-authored with EugenDrewermann, PhD, Patmos Verlag, 2003, ISBN 978-3-491-69078-3 The Path to Bliss...
translator Esther Kinsky (Germany) (International Hermann Hesse Prize) 2019 EugenDrewermann (Hermann Hesse Prize of the International Hermann Hesse Society) 2020...
musician plays another tune for the woodcutter as thanks for his help. EugenDrewermann interprets "The Wonderful Musician", who attracts animals only to send...
– Phillip E. Johnson, American lawyer and author (d. 2019) June 20 EugenDrewermann, German theologian, activist and priest John Mahoney, English-born...
literature, so that the encyclopaedia also contains an article on EugenDrewermann. Walther Killy (ed.): Literaturlexikon. Bertelsmann-Lexikon-Verlag...
appeared on television in a discussion with dissident Catholic theologian EugenDrewermann. On 14 April, Archbishop Joseph Duval, the president of the Bishops...
the 1990s, the conflict between the Archdiocese and renegade priest EugenDrewermann made headlines. The current archbishop is Hans-Josef Becker. In April...
sociologist (died 2023) 15 June — Franz Wegner, German physicist 20 June — EugenDrewermann, German theologian 21 June Brigitte Boehme, German lawyer and church...
Tiefenpsychologie und keine Exegese - Eine Auseinandersetzung mit EugenDrewermann, Katholisches Bibelwerk, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 978-3-460-04291-9 Die...
Dietrich Schwanitz (1940–2004), best-selling author, grew up in Rünthe EugenDrewermann (born 1940), theologian, church critic, best-seller author Peer Steinbrück...
Jung became influential, inter alia with the works of Verena Kast and EugenDrewermann, and even Wilhelm Reich's Christusmord was released. The literary programme...
Berdyczewski), Karlheinz Deschner, Manfred Lurker, Wolfgang Kossak, EugenDrewermann, Henriette von Schirach, Wilhelm Busch, Wolfgang Ott, and Lothar-Günther...
2005: No prize winner 2006 Hans Leyendecker, Heribert Prantl 2007 EugenDrewermann, Konstantin Wecker 2008 Jakob von Uexküll 2009 Gerhart Baum 2010 Noam...
Règle de foi et de vie pour l'Église, Cerf, Paris, 1995. Réponse à EugenDrewermann, Cerf, Paris, 1994. Combats pour la Bible en Église ; Une brassée de...
EugenDrewermann, after he refused to retract certain statements which were not in agreement with Catholic teachings; among other things, Drewermann had...
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