Abstract
Marc Lienhard : The Established Church in German Protestantism. A Consideration of the Theory and Practice of the «Volkskirche» in Federal Germany. The article relates how Luther's ecclesiology and the history of German protestantism have led to a multitudinous church described since the sixteenth century as the «Volkskirche». This term covers three different meanings : a Church borne by the people (the lay), a Church offered as a service to all, and a Church created for a particular people. The writer then proceeds in his second section to a presentation of four features of multitudinism in present-day protestantism in the Federal German Republic : one joins the Church by birth rather than by personal choice, members turn to the Church for its services at decisive moments in life, the Church is active in public life, and it accepts different opinions within its fold. However, a wearing away revealed in particular by departures from the Church is affecting the «Volkskirche». A third section deals with a number of recent theological views regarding the «Volkskirche».
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