Issue from 2023

Volume 117 (2023)

TOPIC: LES RELATIONS DIPLOMATIQUES ENTRE LA CONFÉDÉRATION ET LE SAINT-SIÈGE

• Lorenzo Planzi | Introduction au dossier thématique – La diplomatie de l’Église à l’écoute de la Suisse
• Bernard Andenmatten | Les relations entre la papauté et l’espace suisse durant le Moyen Age

  Relations between the Papacy and the Area of Present-day Switzerland during the Middle Ages

  For obvious reasons of chronology, Switzerland did not constitute an institutional interlocutor of the papacy in the Middle Ages, especially since no episcopal seat was established in the heart of the Swiss Confederacy. Nevertheless, the popes had relations with the Swiss territories, especially when they crossed the Alps on their travels in the kingdom of France. It was during the crises of the late Middle Ages (the papal installation in Avignon, the Great Schism of 1378, the Councils of Basel and Constance) that the papacy and its envoys drew closer to the Swiss area, at the same time as the Swiss were developing their own political identity, forged during the conflicts against the Habsburgs and the subsequent Burgundian Wars. During the second half of the 15th century, the beginning of the Italian wars and the popes’ need for mercenary troops led to the formalisation of the relationship between the pontiffs and the «League of Upper Alemannia».

  Swiss Confederation – Papacy – Bishops – Great Schism 1378 – Council of Constance – Council of Basel – Antipope Clement VII – Amadeus VIII of Savoy – Antipope Felix V – Pope Martin V – Pope Pius II.

• Peter Opitz | Die Beziehungen der Päpste zur Eidgenossenschaft in der Zeit der Reformation

  The Relations of the Popes to the Swiss Confederacy in the Period of the Reformation

  If, according to ancient law, papal legates had primarily a religious-theological mission, this does not apply to the period of Reformation in the Swiss Confederacy examined here. In accordance with the popes of the time, who were hardly concerned with religious and ecclesiastical questions, their task was exclusively political. Until after the Reformation, the Confederacy was perceived and courted by the popes solely as a reservoir of troops. The practice came to an end with the establishment of the two-confessional Confederacy in 1532. The Swiss Guard survived as a papal bodyguard. Conversely, the Confederacy, which was religiously loyal to Rome, also treated the popes who acted as warlords accordingly. It is striking that not only the popes but also their envoys working in Switzerland do not at all seem to have perceived the character of the Reformation as a religiously motivated movement.

  Reformation – Papacy – Confederation – Legations – Mercenarism.

• Mario Galgano | Das Bild der Schweiz bei den Nuntien in Luzern im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert

  The Image of Switzerland among the Nuncios in Lucerne in the 16th and 17th Centuries

  The Pope’s envoys in Lucerne, who acted as nuncios from 1586 onwards, described Switzerland and the Swiss in their letters and instructions. The image of a mountain people, consisting of quite a few heretics and generally forming an antithesis to Roman culture, consistently characterised the attitude of the envoys from Rome towards the Swiss. No significant changes to that image can be detected in the letters. Rather, the nuncios in the 16th and 17th centuries constantly repeated and consolidated the image. Even though this negative image was formative, there was a lively exchange between the nuncios, who were almost exclusively Italian, and the local population north of the Alps. Distrust and fascination continuously alternated, but basically there was a lack of understanding towards the Swiss.

  Switzerland – Catholic Church – Nunciature – Instructions – Exchange – Papacy – Italy.

• Roger Liggenstorfer | Das Archiv der Luzerner Nuntiatur im Apostolischen Archiv des Vatikans (1585–1873)

  The Archive of the Lucerne Nunciature in the Apostolic Archive of the Vatican (1586–1873)

  The nunciature of Lucerne was founded in 1586 and abolished in 1873 when the last representatives left. Thanks to a decision of the Federal Council, the nunciature, now in Bern and no longer in Lucerne, was reopened within the Confederation in 1921. For this period, the archives of the Lucerne Nunciature comprise 452 boxes of documents, letters, materials, sketches, and printed matter. The archival units were transported from Bern to the their own devices and frequently suffered from Helvetic peculiarities. Needless to say that also networks developed with illustrious personalities of the Swiss community in Lucerne and its nunciature as well as friendships that went beyond the «Catholic». One realisation, however, is paramount when it comes to the question what to «undertake» with the material. In the future, it will be important to focus more on the nuncio and his personality. Only with the processing of «all» files, including the materials of the «Lucerna», will it be possible to re-evaluate the institution of the nunciature and its nuncios.

  Nunciature Research – Nuncios – «Lucerna» – Apostolic Archives – Confederation – Abolition of the Papal Nunciature.

• Urban Fink | Die Luzerner Nuntiatur im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert

  The Lucerne Nunciature in the 18th and 19th Centuries
  Systematic research into the nunciature of Lucerne remains a desideratum to this day, even though some of the nuncios in the 17th and 18th centuries have been well researched. As far as the prerequisites and basic features of the activity of the papal nuncios in Lucerne are concerned, however, fundamental statements can already be made in terms of the conduct of office and orientation, which also apply to the nunciatures of the modern era in other countries: Sham empiricism based on centuries-old guidelines; demarcation instead of cooperation, statics instead of dynamics etc. From their point of view, the Italian nuncios experienced disorder and chaos in Switzerland, which was exacerbated by their lack of knowledge of the German language, the unfamiliar economic, political, and denominational situation in Switzerland and different social and cultural conditions than in their homeland. The presented spotlights into the behaviour of individual Lucerne nuncios of the 18th and 19th centuries make it clear that the manner of their actions, their zeal and their diplomatic talents varied. Orientation of papal diplomacy, however, remained the same with the consequence that papal diplomats in Switzerland mostly had only an appeal function without lasting effect. Contributing was the fact that the tasks and faculties of the Lucerne nuncios, defined from Rome, were not adapted to the changing circumstances.

  Nunciature research – Preconditions and faculties of the nuncios – Denominational war – Catholic Enlightenment – «Kulturkampf» – Abolition of the papal nunciature.

• Lorenzo Planzi | De la rupture du Kulturkampf à la réouverture de la Nonciature à Berne (1873–1920)

  From Rupture in the «Kulturkampf» to the Reopening of the Nunciature in Berne (1873–1920)

  Between centre and periphery, the perception that the Catholic Church developed of its relationship with Switzerland during the period when diplomatic relations were effectively lacking (1873–1920) is a field of research that needs to be explored in greater depth. How does the Church’s diplomacy appear in the history of its relations with Switzerland? From the «Bulwark Church» of Pius IX (until 1878) to the «Church of Reconciliation» of Leo XIII (1878–1903), from the «Doctrinal Church» of Pius X. (1903–1914) to the «Humanitarian Church» of Benedict XV (from 1914), the socio-political sensitivity of successive popes played an important role. It is no coincidence that the most significant steps in the rapprochement between Bern and the Vatican were taken during the pontificates of Leo XIII (conflict resolution in Geneva and founding of the University of Fribourg) and Benedict XV (humanitarian cooperation during World War I). These popes were focused on mediation and dialogue. The reopening of the nunciature in Bern in 1920 marked the transition to a new spring of diplomatic openness.

  Self-conception of the Church – Diplomacy – «Kulturkampf» – Nuntiatur Bern – Papacy – Geneva – University of Fribourg – Modernism – Humanitarian cooperation – World War I.

• Claude Altermatt | Nouvelle étape vers la fin du Kulturkampf grâce à une diplomatie suisse plus active

  A New Step Towards the End of the Kulturkampf Thanks to More Active Swiss Diplomacy

  In June 1920, after 47 years of dismanteled relations, the Catholic-conservative Federal Councillor G. Motta succeeded in convincing the Federal Council to accept the return of the nunciature. Thereby, the federal government with its Protestant-liberal majority considered the «Kulturkampf» to be over. The admission of a papal representation in the federal capital also corresponded to the policy of opening the Swiss diplomacy in the immediate post-war period. Especially after the referendum on Switzerland’s membership in the League of Nations (May 1920), the expansion of diplomatic relations with many states was promoted by broadening the network of Swiss legations abroad and the establishment of new diplomatic missions in Bern, including the nunciature. Sensitive issues arising from the return of the nuncio, such as precedence and visits in various cantons, were resolved pragmatically and without causing damage, thanks to Motta’s personal commitment. Relations between the two denominations were getting more relaxed.

  Federal Council – FDP (Federal Political Department) – Motta – Maglione – Nunciature – Precedence.

• Barbara Hallensleben | Diplomatische Beziehungen zwischen der Schweiz und dem Heiligen Stuhl 1920–2020 – Ökumenische Wegzeichen

  Diplomatic Relations between Switzerland and the Holy See 1920–2020 – Ecumenical Waymarks

  The diplomatic relations of the Holy See show that the Catholic Church cultivates its ecumenical relations not only at the ecclesiastical but also at the political level. Peace in justice for all peoples and the entire creation can be seen as the comprehensive ecumenical goal of the Church. The article presents «ecumenical signposts» during the 100 years of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and the Holy See, starting with a clarification of the terms «ecumenism» and «ecumenical movement». The focus is on «Swiss signposts» in the categories: 1) structures, 2) common pastoral tasks, 3) spiritual awakenings, 4) events and initiatives, 5) formative personalities. The outlook reverts to the political dimension of ecumenism: using the example of Switzerland, it is shown that ecumenical plurality entails different forms in the relationship between church testimony and political order.

  Ecumenism – Diplomacy – Switzerland – Holy See – Structures of state-church law – Association of Christian Churches in Switzerland/«Arbeitsgemeinschaft christlicher Krichen.
  in der Schweiz».

• Denis Pelletier | Entre totalitarisme et sécularisation – Les chrétiens européens à l’épreuve du XXe siècle

  Between Totalitarianism and Secularisation – European Christians Put to Test by the 20th Century

  This article provides an overview of twentieth-century European Christianity based on two topics: criticism of totalitarianism on the one hand, and collective concern about secularisation and the possible effacement of Christianity in Europe on the other. Christian actors expressed such concerns and criticism in different ways according to the national traditions to which they belonged, and according to their personal political orientations. Christian intellectuals involved in the fight against totalitarianism emphasise a reflection on the long history of modern Europe, which is marked by the oblivion of its Christian heritage. Conversely, many of them are also concerned about the part Christianity played in the history that led to the birth of totalitarian regimes. The fight against de-Christianisation is regularly accompanied by concerns about secularisation within the religions themselves. The fall of the Soviet bloc in 1991 coincided with the establishment of a new historical configuration for European Christianity, marked by globalisation and the return of religious question into political debates.

  Christianity – Europe – Totalitarianism – Secularisation – Political commitment.

DOSSIER: NACHLEBEN DE CLÉMENT DE ROME

• Alexey Morozov, Franz Mali | Littérature pseudépigraphique – Clément de Rome et sa postérité
• Bernard Pouderon | De quelques apports dans les recherches récentes sur le Roman clémentin

  Some Contributions to Recent Research on the Clementine Novel

  The pseudo-Clementine Novel, a work of edification that combines a romantic plot involving Clement, the future bishop of Rome, and the apostle Peter in their confrontation with Simon Magus, was built up from two main sources: a conversion story of Jewish origin, whose hero was probably already a man named Clement (probably an ersatz of Flavius Clemens, the consul executed under Domitian for «Jewish morals») and one or more doctrinal works of Ebionite inspiration. The Jewish story of conversion, which has disappeared except through the Clementine novel, offers a good example of the reality of non-missionary Jewish proselytism, based on personal contacts. Another contribution concerns the chronological and substantial primacy of one of the two versions of the Clementine Roman, the Greek Homilies, over the Latin version of the Reconnaissances and even over its lost Greek prototype. This observation allows us to date the very first version of the Clementine Novel (the Grundschrift) to the end of the second or the beginning of the third century, at the time when Origen quoted from it. Such an early dating may well provide information about the practices and beliefs of a so-called Ebionite milieu, which was in many ways very close to the early Christian community. Finally, it has emerged that the literary figure of Doctor Faustus owed much to that of Simon Magus as presented in the novel; it can even be assumed that the writer of the Book of Faust (the first written version of the legend) was inspired by the Clementine Novel when describing the character of the diabolical doctor.

  Peter the Apostle – Clement of Rome – Flavius Clemens – Pseudo-Clementine Homilies – Pseudo-Clementine Acknowledgements – Ebionism – Simon Magus – Doctor Faust – Faustbuch (Book of Faust).

• Sara Giorgetti | Le epistole pseudo-clementine Ad Virgines nella tradizione manoscritta copta e nel Pandectes di Antioco di San Saba

  The Pseudo-Clementine Epistles Ad Virgines in the Coptic Manuscript Tradition and the Pandectes of Antiochus of St. Saba
  The aim of this article is to examine the history of the indirect and direct tradition of the Ad Virgines, two letters on virginity attributed to Clement of Rome. Examined are the Coptic fragments that depict some chapters of the first letter by analysing their content and their relevance in the debate on authorship and the historical-cultural environment. Moreover, the complex problem of reconstructing the Greek text of the Ad Virgines through the 29 quotations of the pseudo-clementines included in the Pandectes of Antiochus of St. Saba (7th century) is presented. The large manuscript tradition of this erudite monk is portrayed for the first time in order to determine on which manuscripts the indirect and partial reconstruction of the original Greek text of the Ad Virgines, that has never been found, can be based.

  Ad Virgines – Pseudo-Clemens – coptic fragments – Antiochus of St. Saba – Pandectes Scripturae Sacrae.

• Marco Pavan | La traduzione degli scritti attribuiti a Clemente di Roma in ambito siriaco – Il caso delle epistole Ad Virgines

  Translations of Writings Attributed to Clement of Rome in the Syriac Context – The Case of the Ad Virgines Letters

  The so-called letters Ad Virgines, attributed to Clemens of Rome, are a complex text, both with regard to the identification of their historical production environment and because they are short but privileged witnesses of the ascetic literature of early Christianity. Above all, the Ad Virgines have a fairly complex textual tradition: in fact the Greek original is preserved only in scattered quotations in the Pandette of Antioch of Saint Sheba whereas the complete text is known to us only through the Syriac and Coptic translations, both of which are witnessed in fragments or late manuscripts. In the present contribution, we will focus on the Syriac translation and we will analyze some of its most interesting translational features: the division of the text into two «letters»; «anachronistic» elements in the translation, and biblical quotations. The conclusion is that the Ad Virgines are a unique piece of literature, an exhortation, reshaped as «epistiles» in analogy to 1–2 Cl, perhaps already in the Greek original and translated into Syriac in Edessa, within (pre-) monastic circles around 3rd to 4th century.

  Clement of Rome – Epistles Ad Virgines – Asceticism – Virginity – Translation History (Syriac).

• Judith Hack | Die Pseudoklementinen und ihre Leser – Anmerkungen zur handschriftlichen Überlieferung des Klemensromans

  The Pseudo-Clementines and their Readers – Notes on the Manuscript Tradition of the Clementine Novel
  The Pseudo-Clementines are a late-antique text purporting to have been written by Clement of Rome. Three versions of the text are preserved: the Homilies, the Recognitions, and a Syriac text (translating parts from the other two). The term «novel» has rightly been established for them, because their macrostructure shows clear parallels to antique pagan novels. In the case of the Pseudo-Clementines, the flexibility associated with the genre apparently also meant that in the following centuries they were sometimes dealt with quite openly, as can be seen from their reception. The contexts of the three versions within the surviving manuscripts allow to draw conclusions on the perception of the text at the time in which the codices were created and thus about the readership in the Middle Ages. For the Recognitions in particular, there is still a considerable need for research in that area.

  Clement of Rome – Apostle Peter – Pseudo-Clementines – Rufinus of Aquileia – Christian Novel – Medieval Reception.

VARIA

• Stefan Bojowald | Eine syrische Analogie zum Bild des Schiffes im ägyptischen pAnastasi IV, 10, 4

  A Syriac Analogy to the Image of the Ship in the Egyptian pAnastasi IV, 10, 4

  This paper revisits the ship-comparison in the Egyptian pAn IV, 10, 4. The correct explanation does not seem to have been found yet. From the author’s point of view, the tertium comparationis consists of the extended rudder rods juxtaposed with outstretched bird wings. The same literary motif occurs in the Syrian church father Ephrem Syrus, where the geometric pattern plays the main role. The similarity as such can be explained by the approximately similar cultural conditions.
  Egyptian Philology – ship comparison in pAn IV, 10, 4 – Ephrem Syrus – Hymn de Fide 18, 6/7.

• Horst Rupp | Die neu aufgebrochene Diskussion um den sogenannten Waltensburger Meister

  The Renewed Discussion about the So-Called Waltensburg Master
  At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, frescoes were discovered in the northern part of Grisons, mainly in sacred buildings, which soon proved to be the interrelated work of one painter or his workshop. After his most mature work in the church of Waltensburg, a Passion cycle, the unknown artist was given the epithet «Waltensburg Master ». His work was intensively researched in the 20th century by art historians such as Johann Rudolf Rahn, Erwin Poeschel, Helga Reichel, and Alfons Raimann. However, intensive research came to an end with Raimann’s monumental and highly detailed work published in the 1980s. Only in recent years has the thread of research on the works of the Waltensburg master been picked up again, beginning with a symposium in Waltensburg in 2014. Moreover, since then a whole series of research papers on the work have been published with thoroughly new aspects that had not (yet) been focused on, such as the depiction of Jews in the frescoes. Too little attention has arguably been paid to the eminently religious-theological character of those works. The article at hand addresses these new research perspectives on the works of the Waltensburg Master.

  Frescoes of the 14th century – Northern Grisons – Waltensburg Master – New research perspectives – Depiction of the Jews – Religious-theological character of the frescoes.

• Cyrille Fauchère | Dans l’ombre du cardinal – Peter von Hertenstein et la création de la Garde Suisse Pontificale

  In the Shadow of the Cardinal – Peter von Hertenstein and the Creation of the Pontifical Swiss Guard
  Ignoring the role of Peter von Hertenstein, the Pontifical Swiss Guard is often associated with the Valaisan prelate Mathieu Schiner. There are many reasons why the creation of the Holy Father’s personal guard is attributed to the first cardinal of Sion. Firstly, both were contemporaries in Swiss history: the institution was created in 1506, while Schiner had been bishop of Sion since 1499. They also shared the same objectives, namely the enforcement of papal authority over northern Italy. Secondly, the protagonists – Hertenstein and Schiner – shared similar destinies, which brings them closer together despite not being in direct contact. Lastly, legends are long-lived. Dissiminated by a drawing in Diebold Schilling’s chronicle (1513), a painting by Karl Jauslin (1896), and the current fresco in the guest canteen of the Swiss Guard casern in Rome, these images bring together a purpleclad cardinal and a military contingent coming from various cantons.

  Schiner – Sion – Cardinal – Switzerland – Hertenstein – Guard – Pope – Legend – Creation – Pontifical.

• Dimiter Daphinoff | Byron und das Abendland

  Byron and the Occident
  This essay examines Lord Byron’s early fascination with the «Orient» and his ambivalent relationship to the origins of Occidental culture, Greece and Rome, which he visited as a young man on his «Grand Tour» and which he described in his long poem, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–1818). While modern Greece failed to live up to the exalted expectations of his youth and is «in all but form», thoroughly «changed» , unable and unwilling to throw off the Turkish yoke, Rome, albeit a «chaos of ruins», has been better able to resist the devastations of time and (foreign) tyranny and to preserve and transmit the legacy of its history and culture. In Rome, Harold’s pilgrimage comes to an end, and the poem’s speaker (respectively Byron himself) finds a short-lived state of reconciliation with his own lot and a new determination to fight for justice and freedom in the world he knew.

  Matthew Arnold – Memory Culture – Goethe – Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage – «Orient»/«Occident» – Greece – Italy – Rome – Ruins – Immortality – Dynamic Memory Space – Mythicising Byron in Art.

• Jan Nelis | Italian Fascism, Roman Antiquity and the Spectre of Racism

  Italian Fascism, Roman Antiquity and the Spectre of Racism
  One very peculiar, highly politicized and ideologized vision of classical antiquity is that constructed by Italian fascism, i.e. the fascist ideal of romanità, «Romanness». This latter concept could be summarized as the inheritance, the collective memory, of a distinct but at the same time very present Occidental, i.e. Roman, past. Romanità was not an entirely new idea, as it had been present in Italian (nationalist) discourse since the Risorgimento, but its scale and omnipresence during fascism were unprecedented, while some aspects, such as militarist imperial grandeur and the focus on the supremacy of Occidental culture, were also less present in pre-fascist discourse. As such it should be distinguished from the umanesimo principle, whose roots go back to the Renaissance. Whereas most aspects of romanità have been widely studied, the specific issue of racism has remained largely ignored for decades. Thus it is the aim of this article to make an attempt at filling this gap, by presenting a selected reading of publications in which romanità, as a reference to the Roman, Occidental past, acquired a manifestly racist or also anti-Semitical dimension. The article is introduced by a concise overview of current scholarship on fascism, whereby special attention goes to the role of culture in the latter movement and regime, as this latter aspect is at the heart of the debate on romanità.

  (Italian) fascism – romanità – nationalism – identity – imperialism – racism – colonialism.

• Paul Oberholzer | «Abendland» bei Hugo Rahner – Die Heilsgeschichte als integrierender Bestandteil des kulturellen Gedächtnisses zum Aufbau der Nachkriegsgesellschaft 341

  «Abendland» in Hugo Rahner – The History of Salvation as an Integrating Component of Cultural Memory for the Construction of Post-War Society
  In a first step, this article summarises Hugo Rahner’s concept of the «Occident» («Abendland»), by which he wanted to build a Christian humanist society in the period after World War II. On the one hand, the latter was to be oriented towards the Christian and classical roots of Europe, while on the other, it was to be culturally open and thus realisable in all parts of the world. In doing so, Rahner makes use of theological and transcendental premises, which complicate its reception in a secular environment. For this reason, Rahner’s reflections will be examined for their memory-cultural dimension in a second step, considering the theories of cultural memory and memory spaces.

  Occident («Abendland») – Hugo Rahner – Europe – World War II – Cultural memory – Spaces of memory.

• Frank Britsche | Der christliche Abendlanddiskurs als Topos im Geschichtsunterricht der frühen Bundesrepublik – ein Beitrag zur Disziplingeschichte der Geschichtsdidaktik

  The Christian Discourse on the Occident as a Topos in History Teaching in the Early Federal Republic – a Contribution to the Disciplinary History of History Didactics

  The discourse on historical education and the target definition of history teaching take place in a field of tension between subject-specific science, didactics, and societal demands and is thereby always a contemporary expression of an era in which collective discourses of memory are bundled like in a burning glass. After the end of Nazi rule in 1945, debates on the (intellectual) reconstruction of history teaching were publicly conducted in West Germany. The Christian-European discourse of the «Occident» served as a central reference
  foil for didactic approaches to history and was an expression of contemporary reorientation in the early Federal Republic. The article outlines motifs and positions and contextulises them in the discourse of that time. For this purpose, exemplary narratives of remembrance on the Christian reference to the «Occident» in curricula and concepts written for historical school instruction are analysed, whereby the article is understood as a contribution to the disciplinary history of history didactics.

  History teaching – History didactics – Discourse on the Occident – Memory narratives – Christian Europe – Historical consciousness – Educational policy – Discussion of curricula – Coming to terms with the Nazi past – Early Federal Republic – 1950s/60s – History of discipline – Historical teaching research – Textbooks.

• Albert Gasser | Bemerkungen zu «konservativ» und «katholisch» in Geschichte und Gegenwart

  Remarks on «Conservative» and «Catholic» in the Past and Present

  This article examines frequently used historiographical and political terminology. The terms «Catholic» and «conservative» should not be lumped together, especially in a Swiss context. Yet, they are often used as hyphenated categories. «Conservative», generally seen as antonym to the left spectrum, combines a wealth of meanings and nuances hardly suitable for the often-used, flat antonym. And «Catholic» is already in the literal sense (meaning «all-embracing») inscribed with an enormous semantic breadth.
  Terminology – Historiography – Switzerland – 19th/20th century – Liberalism – Catholicism – «Catholic» – «Conservative».

• Annina Sandmeier-Walt | Religion, Kirche und Frömmigkeit als Teil von «Zeitgeschichte Aargau 1950–2000» – Voraussetzungen, Eckpunkte und Forschungsdesiderate

  Religion, Church and Piety in «Zeitgeschichte Aargau 1950–2000» – Prerequisites, Key Points and Research Desiderata
  With «Zeitgeschichte Aargau 1950–2000», the Historical Society of Aargau has produced a 4th volume of the canton’s history. Sub-projects have prepared and mediated the publication, such as filmed interviews with contemporary witnesses, documentary short films and newspaper articles. As part of the social history, «Zeitgeschichte Aargau» also examined the religious and church landscape in Aargau over the last approximately 80 years. This religious landscape was – as elsewhere in Switzerland – strongly characterised by the dominance of the national churches until the 1960s, which was perceptible in everyday life, education, and leisure activities. Up to the present, that dominance has been steadily eroding, followed by a variety of faith communities and a growing number of people not belonging to any denomination. This article provides an overview of the findings from the work in the «Zeitgeschichte Aargau project», identifies Aargau’s distinctive features of the religious and church landscape, and explores the cantonal legislation, some of which was already in place during the «Kulturkampf» period and continued to have an impact well into the second half of the 20th century. In addition, it indicates research desiderata which could not be pursued within the framework of cantonal history.
  Aargau – Canton Aargau – Contemporary history – Religion – Religious communities – Denominations – Articles of exception – Churches – National churches – Jewish cultural heritage.