Autumn Semester 2019

Politics and Religion in Judaism

The Jewish tradition is familiar with diverse definitions of the relationship between religion and politics, which is not surprising in view of the different historical circumstances and framework conditions: The political scope of a religious minority in a non-Jewish environment is different from that of a (more or less) sovereign (Jewish) state. Whereas politics and religion were closely linked in pre-modern, Christian-dominated Europe, only to be separated from each other with the Enlightenment in the concept of the secular state, European Jewry in the Diaspora defined itself primarily through religion. In modern times, Judaism emerged as a political force primarily with emancipation, the Zionist movement and the founding of the State of Israel. Especially in contemporary Israel, the relationship between religion and politics is one of the greatest internal challenges.

DownloadProgramme of the lecture series in the autumn semester 2019 (PDF, 148 KB)