---
_id: '58225'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "In this chapter the common parlance of “religious violence in early modern
    history” is put to the test, although it seems to be linked in an indissoluble
    way with the master narratives about this period. The first section shows that
    it makes no difference whether historians think of early modern history in terms
    of impersonal structures or of personal experience–they agree in regarding religion
    as a crucial cause of violence. \r\nAgainst this widespread conviction the paper
    unfolds two arguments. The first is that the Latin word “religio”, as it was used
    throughout the 16th and 17th century, did not mean ‘religion’ in our modern comprehensive
    understanding of the word. Instead its meaning was quite narrow and specific,
    referring either to the medieval sense of ‘committing oneself to God by joining
    a religious order’ (becoming a “religiosus” resp. a “religiosa”) or to the ancient
    sense of ‘scrupulously venerating God’. It did not mean ‘faith’, ‘doctrine’, ‘worship’,
    ‘church law’ or ‘denomination’, and definitely not all these things in conjunction.
    Only when the vernacular languages began to borrow the Latin word from the 16th
    century onwards was its narrow meaning broadened. As a consequence of reformation
    and counterreformation, the idea arose that one should make faith and doctrine
    and worship and church law match, although the attempt to implement this new rapport
    provoked much opposition and turned out to be a very violent process. From this
    point of view what is generally called “early modern religious violence” is violence
    caused not by religion, but by the ambition to establish a new idea of religion.
    \r\nThe second argument is that our modern understanding of religion is coined
    by the 18th-century critique of religion. Only the Enlightenment’s claim to overcome
    religion (in the new sense of the word) declared it to be “irrational” or even
    “fanatic”. Thus the Enlightenment invented religious fanatism, using it as a retrospective
    explanation of the violence that had gripped the last centuries. Modern parlance
    of “religious violence” unintentionally prolongs a very poor idea of religion–and
    one that should not be mistaken for an explanation."
author:
- first_name: Johannes
  full_name: Süßmann, Johannes
  last_name: Süßmann
citation:
  ama: 'Süßmann J. „Religiöse Gewalt“ in der Frühen Neuzeit? Eine begriffsgeschichtliche
    Revision. In: Weltecke D, ed. <i>Religiöse Gewalt in historischer Dimension</i>.
    Vol 109. Schriften des Historischen Kollegs. Kolloquien. De Gruyter | Oldenbourg;
    2025:429–448. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110773781-018">10.1515/9783110773781-018</a>'
  apa: Süßmann, J. (2025). „Religiöse Gewalt“ in der Frühen Neuzeit? Eine begriffsgeschichtliche
    Revision. In D. Weltecke (Ed.), <i>Religiöse Gewalt in historischer Dimension</i>
    (Vol. 109, pp. 429–448). De Gruyter | Oldenbourg. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110773781-018">https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110773781-018</a>
  bibtex: '@inbook{Süßmann_2025, place={München}, series={Schriften des Historischen
    Kollegs. Kolloquien}, title={„Religiöse Gewalt“ in der Frühen Neuzeit? Eine begriffsgeschichtliche
    Revision}, volume={109}, DOI={<a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110773781-018">10.1515/9783110773781-018</a>},
    booktitle={Religiöse Gewalt in historischer Dimension}, publisher={De Gruyter
    | Oldenbourg}, author={Süßmann, Johannes}, editor={Weltecke, Dorothea}, year={2025},
    pages={429–448}, collection={Schriften des Historischen Kollegs. Kolloquien} }'
  chicago: 'Süßmann, Johannes. “„Religiöse Gewalt“ in der Frühen Neuzeit? Eine begriffsgeschichtliche
    Revision.” In <i>Religiöse Gewalt in historischer Dimension</i>, edited by Dorothea
    Weltecke, 109:429–448. Schriften des Historischen Kollegs. Kolloquien. München:
    De Gruyter | Oldenbourg, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110773781-018">https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110773781-018</a>.'
  ieee: 'J. Süßmann, “„Religiöse Gewalt“ in der Frühen Neuzeit? Eine begriffsgeschichtliche
    Revision,” in <i>Religiöse Gewalt in historischer Dimension</i>, vol. 109, D.
    Weltecke, Ed. München: De Gruyter | Oldenbourg, 2025, pp. 429–448.'
  mla: Süßmann, Johannes. “„Religiöse Gewalt“ in der Frühen Neuzeit? Eine begriffsgeschichtliche
    Revision.” <i>Religiöse Gewalt in historischer Dimension</i>, edited by Dorothea
    Weltecke, vol. 109, De Gruyter | Oldenbourg, 2025, pp. 429–448, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110773781-018">10.1515/9783110773781-018</a>.
  short: 'J. Süßmann, in: D. Weltecke (Ed.), Religiöse Gewalt in historischer Dimension,
    De Gruyter | Oldenbourg, München, 2025, pp. 429–448.'
date_created: 2025-01-16T17:44:09Z
date_updated: 2025-04-24T16:18:42Z
department:
- _id: '446'
- _id: '550'
doi: 10.1515/9783110773781-018
editor:
- first_name: Dorothea
  full_name: Weltecke, Dorothea
  last_name: Weltecke
intvolume: '       109'
keyword:
- Religion
- Gewalt
- Begriffsgeschichte
- Frühe Neuzeit
- Aufklärung
- Religionskritik
language:
- iso: ger
main_file_link:
- url: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110773781-018/pdf
page: 429–448
place: München
project:
- _id: '1114'
  name: Der Begriff der "Religion" in der Frühen Neuzeit
publication: Religiöse Gewalt in historischer Dimension
publication_identifier:
  isbn:
  - '9783110773781'
publication_status: published
publisher: De Gruyter | Oldenbourg
quality_controlled: '1'
series_title: Schriften des Historischen Kollegs. Kolloquien
status: public
title: „Religiöse Gewalt“ in der Frühen Neuzeit? Eine begriffsgeschichtliche Revision
type: book_chapter
user_id: '16220'
volume: 109
year: '2025'
...
---
_id: '59808'
citation:
  ama: Vukadinović VS, ed. <i>Freiheit ist keine Metapher. Antisemitismus, Migration,
    Rassismus, Religionskritik</i>. Querverlag; 2018.
  apa: Vukadinović, V. S. (Ed.). (2018). <i>Freiheit ist keine Metapher. Antisemitismus,
    Migration, Rassismus, Religionskritik</i>. Querverlag.
  bibtex: '@book{Vukadinović_2018, place={Berlin}, title={Freiheit ist keine Metapher.
    Antisemitismus, Migration, Rassismus, Religionskritik}, publisher={Querverlag},
    year={2018} }'
  chicago: 'Vukadinović, Vojin Saša, ed. <i>Freiheit ist keine Metapher. Antisemitismus,
    Migration, Rassismus, Religionskritik</i>. Berlin: Querverlag, 2018.'
  ieee: 'V. S. Vukadinović, Ed., <i>Freiheit ist keine Metapher. Antisemitismus, Migration,
    Rassismus, Religionskritik</i>. Berlin: Querverlag, 2018.'
  mla: Vukadinović, Vojin Saša, editor. <i>Freiheit ist keine Metapher. Antisemitismus,
    Migration, Rassismus, Religionskritik</i>. Querverlag, 2018.
  short: V.S. Vukadinović, ed., Freiheit ist keine Metapher. Antisemitismus, Migration,
    Rassismus, Religionskritik, Querverlag, Berlin, 2018.
date_created: 2025-05-06T08:38:00Z
date_updated: 2025-05-06T08:45:29Z
editor:
- first_name: Vojin Saša
  full_name: Vukadinović, Vojin Saša
  last_name: Vukadinović
keyword:
- Antisemitismus
- Migration
- Rassismus
- Religionskritik
language:
- iso: ger
place: Berlin
publication_status: published
publisher: Querverlag
status: public
title: Freiheit ist keine Metapher. Antisemitismus, Migration, Rassismus, Religionskritik
type: book_editor
user_id: '107131'
year: '2018'
...