Mission and Colonialism: Ludwig Harms’ and the Hermannsburg Mission’s Romantic Approach
Mission and Colonialism: Ludwig Harms’ and the Hermannsburg Mission’s Romantic Approach
Author(s): Jobst RellerSubject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, History of Church(es), Social Philosophy, Theology and Religion, 19th Century, Migration Studies, History of Religion
Published by: Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Nakladatelství Karolinum
Keywords: Hermannsburg mission; Pastor Ludwig Harms; colonialism; mission; migration; South Africa
Summary/Abstract: The original vision of the founder of the Hermannsburg mission, Pastor Ludwig Harms (1808–1865) was deeply rooted in the period of romantic revival in Germany in the early 19th century. Whole congregations of missionaries and colonists should be sent overseas together. Although critical of colonialism, the mission and its settlers became later part of a colonial and even racist society in South Africa. Did the vision influence the social concept six generations later in the former mission field? Did it slow down the process of indigenization, lock up in racist concepts like “apartheid”? The essay provides many hints in that direction and exposes a specific variant of the interaction of migration, colonialism and mission.
Journal: Communio viatorum
- Issue Year: 66/2024
- Issue No: 3
- Page Range: 285-298
- Page Count: 14
- Language: English
