Lichtgedanken 02

S C HW E R P U N K T 31 02 | LICHT GEDANKEN Neither Marburg nor Tübingen were considered bastions of Catholicism. He saw the subject of Catholic Theology which he read besides Political Science and History, more as a good option for becoming a teacher than as a path to self-discovery. Nevertheless, he expan- ded his view of his own faith here. The Catholic theological seminary in Mar- burg only boasted two professors, and for that reason the course was domina- ted by Protestants. His time in Tübingen was primarily shaped by the dispute with Hans Küng who as a professor was levelling explicit criticism at the Ca- tholic Church and thereby encouraging a process of self-reflection. But does a degree in Theology do anything for one’s own faith? »Sometimes it’s a ge- nuine help and sometimes a hindrance,« Dicke says today. »Sometimes you can derive greater benefit from doubting, searching thinkers in this field such as Imre Kertész than from many theolo- gical tracts, but on the other hand, it is also very enriching to be able to follow the practices of faith over many centu- ries. Theology is a highly interesting science.« One of the first priorities for the stu- dent Klaus Dicke in any new town was to contact the student congregation. In Marburg and Tübingen, these are orga- nized along ecumenical lines – a subject that has stayed with him to this day. Not least because he becomes further and further removed from his Catholic heartland in the course of his university career. First it takes him as a junior lec- turer to the Protestant north, to the Uni- versity of Kiel. »That was diaspora in itself. The Catholic community there is very modest. You know each other from Sundays. That naturally leaves its mark and creates bonds,« the man from the Rhineland recalls. Finally, he has a si- milar experience when he moves to the FSU in Jena in 1995. The almost secula- rized east seems to present another new challenge. However, the research envi- ronment and working conditions are of much greater importance to the political scientist than the homeland of his faith. »I have never chosen where to work or live on the basis of my faith,« he says. Conversely, however, faith did once have its say. »I was in first place among the list of applicants for a Catholic uni- versity in south Germany, but I was not appointed because my first marriage had ended in divorce,« Dicke recounts. The Reformation offered a »rich ta- pestry of opportunities« In any case, with Jena he has arrived in the heartland of the Reformation. Time and again, his research priorities touch on the Early Modern – »and if you study this epoch, you won’t be able to avoid the movements of reform.« And alto- gether, Dicke is at pains to stress that the events were not restricted to 1517. »If you look at the theological landscape around 1500, you will find a plethora of options; there was a rich tapestry of opportunities and Luther seized one of them.« Reading Martin Luther’s wri- tings constitutes for Dicke the starting point for an intensive analysis of the Re- formation. The political dimension fas- cinates him above all else. »If you read Luther’s work on authority, you can see the great extent to which the events around 1517 also emanated from ro- bust political pragmatism,« the political scientist explains. »Generally speaking, the divisions that we have created to- day between politics and religion did not exist in those days. Everything was much more closely interwoven – and that is precisely what makes the constel- lation of forces so exciting.« And one political consequence of the Reformation is also the University of Jena which was initiated by a Protestant prince imprisoned by Catholics (p. 12 f.). Dicke was determined, therefore, that his university had to be part of any Photo left: Installation on the market square of Wittenberg. Martin Luther (1483–1546) set the Reformation in motion from here. The monument to the reformer in front of the town hall can be seen in the background. Prof. Dr Klaus Dicke. The political scientist was Rector of Friedrich Schiller University from 2004 to 2014. The 63-year-old has been interested in Luther and the Reformation for longer than the last ten years of the Luther decade. F E AT U R E