Chosen Nation

Mennonites and Germany in a Global Era

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Denominations, Mennonite, History, Germany
Cover of the book Chosen Nation by Benjamin Goossen, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Benjamin Goossen ISBN: 9781400885190
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: May 9, 2017
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Benjamin Goossen
ISBN: 9781400885190
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: May 9, 2017
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the global Mennonite church developed an uneasy relationship with Germany. Despite the religion's origins in the Swiss and Dutch Reformation, as well as its longstanding pacifism, tens of thousands of members embraced militarist German nationalism. Chosen Nation is a sweeping history of this encounter and the debates it sparked among parliaments, dictatorships, and congregations across Eurasia and the Americas.

Offering a multifaceted perspective on nationalism's emergence in Europe and around the world, Benjamin Goossen demonstrates how Mennonites' nationalization reflected and reshaped their faith convictions. While some church leaders modified German identity along Mennonite lines, others appropriated nationalism wholesale, advocating a specifically Mennonite version of nationhood. Examining sources from Poland to Paraguay, Goossen shows how patriotic loyalties rose and fell with religious affiliation. Individuals might claim to be German at one moment but Mennonite the next. Some external parties encouraged separatism, as when the Weimar Republic helped establish an autonomous "Mennonite State" in Latin America. Still others treated Mennonites as quintessentially German; under Hitler's Third Reich, entire colonies benefited from racial warfare and genocide in Nazi-occupied Ukraine. Whether choosing Germany as a national homeland or identifying as a chosen people, called and elected by God, Mennonites committed to collective action in ways that were intricate, fluid, and always surprising.

The first book to place Christianity and diaspora at the heart of nationality studies, Chosen Nation illuminates the rising religious nationalism of our own age.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the global Mennonite church developed an uneasy relationship with Germany. Despite the religion's origins in the Swiss and Dutch Reformation, as well as its longstanding pacifism, tens of thousands of members embraced militarist German nationalism. Chosen Nation is a sweeping history of this encounter and the debates it sparked among parliaments, dictatorships, and congregations across Eurasia and the Americas.

Offering a multifaceted perspective on nationalism's emergence in Europe and around the world, Benjamin Goossen demonstrates how Mennonites' nationalization reflected and reshaped their faith convictions. While some church leaders modified German identity along Mennonite lines, others appropriated nationalism wholesale, advocating a specifically Mennonite version of nationhood. Examining sources from Poland to Paraguay, Goossen shows how patriotic loyalties rose and fell with religious affiliation. Individuals might claim to be German at one moment but Mennonite the next. Some external parties encouraged separatism, as when the Weimar Republic helped establish an autonomous "Mennonite State" in Latin America. Still others treated Mennonites as quintessentially German; under Hitler's Third Reich, entire colonies benefited from racial warfare and genocide in Nazi-occupied Ukraine. Whether choosing Germany as a national homeland or identifying as a chosen people, called and elected by God, Mennonites committed to collective action in ways that were intricate, fluid, and always surprising.

The first book to place Christianity and diaspora at the heart of nationality studies, Chosen Nation illuminates the rising religious nationalism of our own age.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book The Central Asian Economies in the Twenty-First Century by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book Count Like an Egyptian by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book Deep Life by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book Randomness in Evolution by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book Canids of the World by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book Democratic Governance by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book The Happiness Philosophers by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book The Squam Lake Report by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book The Hoods by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book Mathematical Modeling of Earth's Dynamical Systems by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book The House of Government by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book Almanac by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book Exile, Ostracism, and Democracy by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book Understanding the Digital World by Benjamin Goossen
Cover of the book Why Gender Matters in Economics by Benjamin Goossen
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy