The highly readable translation of Benjamin Dahlke’s German-language study of Catholic theology in Europe’s German-speaking regions from 1750 to 1850 provides the English-speaking reader with an excellent, concise introduction to understanding how the Enlightenment influenced the Church’s intellectual and pastoral life, especially its training of future clergy. It fills a gap in the existing literature and has been updated to include newer works since its original publication in 2022.

In his introduction, Dahlke establishes the period in question and offers an overview of the overarching changes in theology and Church life in the German-speaking regions. He uses Reinhart Koselleck’s term Sattelzeit, which describes ‘a mountain saddle connecting one hill to another’, to illustrate the ‘profound transformation in both thinking and the social world … driven by the emerging forces of democratization, temporalization, ideologization, and politicization’ to capture the period (p. 1). It was a time of significant upheaval and change that profoundly impacted much of European society, particularly its political, intellectual and cultural spheres. Most importantly, theology experienced a profound shift, moving away from scholasticism toward subjectivity and historicity, primarily as it engaged with contemporary philosophy. Clergy emphasised less their role as a ‘baroque master of ceremonies, known for … ritual competence’ (p. 10). They became more recognised as Volkslehrer or teachers of the people, imparting the knowledge they had learned at university to the members of their flocks. Many parish priests even promoted the use of the vernacular in worship, primarily through congregational singing. Despite such innovations, Dahlke stresses that there was no ‘uniform universally shared program of Catholic Enlightenment’ (p. 11).

Chapter ii, ‘Aspects of Catholic theology between 1750 and 1850’, comprises most of the book and is divided into numbered subsections. Dahlke shows that among the many men’s religious communities, the Benedictines demonstrated a welcoming openness to the Enlightenment. He attributes this not only to their rich traditions and extensive libraries, but also to the travel many of their monks took to other monasteries to engage with monastic scholars, academic collections and liturgical reforms. Dahlke provides several examples, including Benedikt Werkmeister of the Neresheim Abbey in Swabia, who ventured to Benediktbeuren to study. After returning, he became a novice master and a philosophy instructor, influencing future Benedictines with the knowledge and experience he had gained during his absence. Despite these advances, Dahlke notes that challenges arose in balancing monastic life with Enlightenment ideas and practices.

The Jesuits appear as the antithesis of the Benedictines in their resistance to the Enlightenment and their steadfast adherence to scholastic thought. They dominated the training of theologians in the Catholic territories, including Paderborn, Würzburg, Trier, Dillingen and Ingolstadt. Entrenched in their rigid three-tiered educational programme, consisting first of Gymnasium, focusing on Latin instruction in classical texts, followed by the study of philosophy, centred on Aristotle, and then the study of scholastic-based dogmatics and moral theology, dominated by the writings of Thomas Aquinas. Although the system was sequential and comprehensive, Dahlke describes it as inflexible, which, he argues, eventually led to its ossification.

From 1750 onward, various European nations and principalities, including Portugal, France and Spain, banned or expelled the Jesuits, primarily for political reasons. Eventually, in 1773, Pope Clement xiv suppressed the Jesuit order. Many Jesuits incardinated into local dioceses and continued their ministry and teaching. Others, however, lost their professorships. Although this was unfortunate, Dahlke argues that the order’s suppression created opportunities for reform in theological education and pastoral training. In areas like Würzburg, where Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim demonstrated receptivity to the Enlightenment, a revision of the theological curriculum occurred, including the introduction of Greek and Hebrew studies, as well as a greater emphasis on topics related to pastoral care. Similar changes took place in Münster and Bonn. Reforms also happened in regions ruled by the Habsburgs, as Maria Theresa and her son, Joseph ii, regularly intervened in Church affairs, including the training of future priests. Joseph even centralised theological studies into general seminaries for priest candidates from multiple dioceses, aiming to assert his authority and influence. However, these reforms, which local bishops strongly opposed, did not last after Joseph’s death.

The Coalition Wars, from 1792 to 1815, between France and various European monarchies brought significant change to the German-speaking regions, including territorial reorganisation, where predominantly Catholic areas were incorporated into Protestant-ruled governments. The Benedictines suffered the most, as many of their monasteries faced closures, and their libraries and manuscript collections were either scattered or destroyed. Meanwhile, other regions, such as Bavaria, gained from the addition of the prince-bishoprics of Augsburg, Bamberg, Eichstätt, Freising, Passau and Würzburg. However, many universities in these cities were reduced to lyceums with only two academic departments, philosophy and theology, both of which lacked self-governing rights and were not allowed to grant advanced degrees.

The 1815 Congress of Vienna, under the leadership of Austrian Foreign Minister Klemens von Metternich, further impacted the German-speaking lands. The state intervened in the preparation and sustenance of Catholic clergy, instituting systematic examinations and paying the priests’ salaries. Clerical oaths of allegiance to the individual governments were implemented. In the Upper Rhine region, a series of conferences held in Frankfurt led to the establishment of a new ecclesiastical province and the institutionalisation of the idea of ‘state control over the Church’ (p. 94). Still, such ‘reforms’ also led to the localisation of theological growth in intellectually vibrant universities such as Tübingen, where the professors founded the Theological Quarterly journal. Such publications enabled the swift spread of new ideas among their readerships.

Although Enlightenment ideas permeated the theological intellectual realm, counter movements remained and grew stronger, especially in the mid-nineteenth century. In chapter iii, ‘Counter-movements: the rise of neo-scholasticism’, Dahlke briefly demonstrates how scholars such as Karl Windischmann of the University of Bonn condemned the French Revolution and challenged the philosophical systems of Kant, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel. Windischmann contended that ‘true Enlightenment, in the Christian sense, could only be attained through revelation’ (p. 131). Dahlke concluded that it was a ‘serious mistake’ to embrace Enlightenment ideas and neglect scholasticism (p. 135). Eventually, Vatican I (1869/1870) ensured that Neo-Scholastic thought prevailed, enforced even more by Pope Leo xiii.

Dahlke admits that his study only begins to address the breadth of issues arising from this period of history. In chapter iv, ‘Research desiderata’, Dahlke invites the reader to consider further areas for research. These include undertaking an interdisciplinary approach to examine the ‘geographical and social backgrounds’ (p. 144) of theologians of the period, a systematic analysis of ‘the reception of contemporary philosophy within Catholic theology’ (p. 145) and a consideration of the epoch’s cultural history and its impact on intellectual thought. Although Dahlke’s work does not delve deeply into these topics, he provides the reader with an insightful overview of the period, which will also assist anyone studying church history in understanding the origins of the complex relationship between Church and State in Germany that persists today.