Ernst Troeltsch

Ernst Troeltsch (German: [tʀœltʃ]; 17 February 1865, Haunstetten – 1 February 1923, Berlin) was a German Protestant theologian and writer on philosophy of religion and philosophy of history, and an influential figure in German thought before 1914, including as a member of the history of religions school. His work was a synthesis of a number of strands, drawing on Albrecht Ritschl, Max Weber's conception of sociology, and the Neo-Kantians of the Baden school.

His The Social Teachings of the Christian Church (two volume edition in translation by Harper Row, 1960) is a seminal work in this area.

Troeltsch was born into a Lutheran family to a doctor but went to a Catholic school in a predominantly Catholic area before attending university in Erlangen and then Göttingen. His ordination in 1889 was followed in 1891 by a post teaching theology at Göttingen. In 1892, he moved on to teach at the University of Bonn; in 1894, he moved on again to Heidelberg University. Finally, in 1915, he transferred to teach at what is now the Humboldt University of Berlin where he took the title of professor of philosophy and civilization.

Throughout Troeltsch's life, he wrote frequently of his belief that changes in society posed a threat to Christian religion, that "the disenchantment of the world" as described by sociologist Max Weber was under way. At an academic conference that took place in 1896, following a paper on the doctrine of logos, Troeltsch responded by saying "Gentlemen, everything is tottering!"

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