Theoretical Article

Christian Weltanschauung in the Era of Secularism

Number: 19 May 31, 2026
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Christian Weltanschauung in the Era of Secularism

Abstract

This study briefly examines the emergence of Christian values in post-war Germany, with particular emphasis on Konrad Adenauer, the founding father of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who promoted these values in party politics to address contemporary social and political challenges such as materialism and secularism. This paradigm proposes an analytical approach for identifying the Weltanschauung of Christian democracy and investigates its religious-traditional-based theories and ideologies. Christian democracy is not simply an alternative political view or agenda, but a civilizational proposal intended to overcome the contemporary social and cultural obstacles caused by materialist Weltanschauung by providing a source of identity merging both the “City of Man” and the “City of God”. Konrad Adenauer and other Christian democratic thinkers proposed this identity in their post-war political agenda, drawing significant inspiration from the Catholic Social Doctrine. In this regard, Christian ethics fundamentally shapes Christian democratic Weltanschauung as opposed to the totalitarian Weltanschauung of the materialistic image of man by proposing some crucial concepts such as justice, freedom, dignity, etc. This research utilizes qualitative analytical methods. The fundamental finding indicates that Christian values remain relevant and applicable in German politics amid the secularization process.

Keywords

References

  1. Accetti, C. I. (2019). What Is Christian Democracy? Politics, Religion and Ideology. Cambridge University Press.
  2. Adenauer, K. (1965). Erinnerungen 1945-1953. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt.
  3. Adenauer, K. (1946, March 24). Speech at Cologne University- 24. März 1946. konrad-adenauer.de.
  4. Almond, G. (1948). Christian Parties of Western Europe. World Politics, 1(1), 30-58.
  5. Bachem, K. (1968). Vorgeschichte, Geschichte und Politik Der Deutschen Zentrumspartei. Bachem Verlag.
  6. Becker, W. (1996). Katholizismus- Pluralistische Gesellschaft- Christliche Demokratie Entwicklungslinien in Deutschland und Frankreich. In Historisch Politische Mitteilungen (pp. 44-52).
  7. Borchard, M. (2023). Stationen der Programmatischen Entwicklung der CDU. In N. Lammert (Ed.), Handbuch zur Geschichte der CDU: Grundlagen, Entwicklungen, Positionen (pp. 79-107). Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft (WBG) Academic.
  8. Bösch, F. (2002). Die Geschichte der CDU. DVA.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

European and Region Studies, Comparative Political Movement, Political Movement, Political Theory and Political Philosophy

Journal Section

Theoretical Article

Publication Date

May 31, 2026

Submission Date

March 4, 2026

Acceptance Date

May 24, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: 19

APA
Dogru, S., & Özay, M. (2026). Christian Weltanschauung in the Era of Secularism. İmgelem, 19, 542-571. https://doi.org/10.53791/imgelem.1901627
AMA
1.Dogru S, Özay M. Christian Weltanschauung in the Era of Secularism. İMGELEM. 2026;(19):542-571. doi:10.53791/imgelem.1901627
Chicago
Dogru, Sumeyye, and Mehmet Özay. 2026. “Christian Weltanschauung in the Era of Secularism”. İmgelem, nos. 19: 542-71. https://doi.org/10.53791/imgelem.1901627.
EndNote
Dogru S, Özay M (May 1, 2026) Christian Weltanschauung in the Era of Secularism. İmgelem 19 542–571.
IEEE
[1]S. Dogru and M. Özay, “Christian Weltanschauung in the Era of Secularism”, İMGELEM, no. 19, pp. 542–571, May 2026, doi: 10.53791/imgelem.1901627.
ISNAD
Dogru, Sumeyye - Özay, Mehmet. “Christian Weltanschauung in the Era of Secularism”. İmgelem. 19 (May 1, 2026): 542-571. https://doi.org/10.53791/imgelem.1901627.
JAMA
1.Dogru S, Özay M. Christian Weltanschauung in the Era of Secularism. İMGELEM. 2026;:542–571.
MLA
Dogru, Sumeyye, and Mehmet Özay. “Christian Weltanschauung in the Era of Secularism”. İmgelem, no. 19, May 2026, pp. 542-71, doi:10.53791/imgelem.1901627.
Vancouver
1.Sumeyye Dogru, Mehmet Özay. Christian Weltanschauung in the Era of Secularism. İMGELEM. 2026 May 1;(19):542-71. doi:10.53791/imgelem.1901627