"Religious experience" in Catholic modernism

Since the 19th century the Catholic Church has been facing conflicts regarding her relationship to the modern world. One major conflict that has affected Catholic theology right up to the present day is the modernist controversy. A group of theologians from all over Europe became the focus of attention of the Roman authorities at the beginning of the 20th century. The Curia finally condemned some of the theologians involved, while denouncing their theories as modernist. Through the introduction of an oath against modernism in 1910, different reform proposals were subsequently suppressed until the oath vanished as part of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Despite the importance of this conflict for Catholic theology, research on the modernist controversy remains lacking. The general focus lies on the French exegete Alfred Loisy, a key protagonist of the controversy, and his quest to reconcile the truth of the Christian faith with insights of the modern historical sciences. By contrast, a largely neglected aspect, especially in German-speaking research, is that the theological appeal to experience as a foundation of religious belief and practice is essential for many modernist theories as well as for the Roman rejections of modernism. The project seeks to clarify the concept of religious experience with regard to its sources in the sciences of religion and its function within the modernist controversy. Up to now, research has usually located the origins of the concept within theological sources. However, it was hardly noticed that the concept played a major role in the contemporary scientific discussion on religion outside theology. In the thriving sciences of religion around 1900, the concept of religious experience was part of different endeavors to determine the genuine character and function of religion under the conditions of advanced modernity. The project analyzes the relationship between Catholic modernism and contemporary sciences of religion based on the cases of George Tyrrell and Friedrich von Hügel, the main protagonists of modernism in England. Both theologians were crucial for the modernist movement and its connections to the scientific discussion about religion and experience outside Catholic theology. The results of the project will not only further elucidate the discussion on the point of contention of the modernist controversy, but will also shed new light on the complex process of self-modernization of Catholic theology in the 20th century. Right up to the present day, the modernist controversy still affects how experience is referenced or not referenced within Catholic theology. The project therefore also contributes to the theological discussion of theories today that like the widely received approach of Hans Joas draw heavily on the scientific innovations around 1900.

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