Uta Ranke-Heinemann

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Uta Ranke-Heinemann
Born(1927-10-02)2 October 1927
Essen, Germany
Died25 March 2021(2021-03-25) (aged 93)
Essen, Germany
Education
OccupationTheologian
Organizations
Notable workEunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven
SpouseEdmund Ranke
ChildrenJohannes Ranke-Heinemann
Parent
RelativesChristina Rau (niece)

Uta Ranke-Heinemann (2 October 1927 – 25 March 2021) was a German theologian, academic, and author. In 1969, she was the first woman in the world to be

History of Religion. Her 1988 book Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven
, criticising the Catholic Church's stance on women and sexuality, was published in several editions, and translated in 12 languages. Her 1992 book Nein und Amen, revised in 2002, said there were "fairy tales you don't need to believe to have a living faith".

Life and career

Uta Heinemann was born in

Calvinist Protestants. Her father Gustav Heinemann was to become the third President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1969 as a first member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in the position.[1][2][3][4] She was an excellent student, the only girl accepted at the Burggymnasium Essen [de], where she passed the Abitur with distinction.[5]

After nearly seven years' study of Protestant theology in

Munich, making her the first woman to be so (together with Elisabeth Gössmann).[8][9] One of her fellow students and a friend at that time was Joseph Ratzinger, later known as Pope Benedict XVI
.

In 1969, Ranke-Heinemann became the first woman in the world to be habilitated in Catholic theology,

University of Munich.[1][7][9] She subsequently held the Essen University chair of ancient Church history and the New Testament from 1970.[5]

Ranke-Heinemann was active in the

History of Religion.[8] Her principal book dealing critically with sexuality in the Catholic Church, in English Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven: Women, sexuality, and the Catholic Church, appeared first in 1988, and in many subsequent editions.[1] It was translated to 12 languages.[8]

In 1999, Ranke-Heinemann was a candidate for President of Germany, without party membership, but lost to Johannes Rau, the husband of her niece Christina.[1][3]

She announced her break with conventional Christianity altogether in 1992. Ranke-Heinemann died at her home in Essen[8] on 25 March 2021 at age 93.[1][11]

Beliefs

Ranke-Heinemann at the Weltjugendtag in Cologne, 2005

Ranke-Heinemann's book Nein und Amen, announcing her break with the church, was first published in 1992 and reprinted several times;[12] the book was translated into English as Putting Away Childish Things.[13] Spanish[14] and Polish[15] translations followed. She revised it in 2002, after the death of her husband, with the new subtitle Mein Abschied vom traditionellen Christentum, declaring a sevenfold "farewell to traditional Christianity":[8][16]

  1. The Bible is not the
    word of men
    .
  2. That God exists in three persons is the imagination of men.
  3. Jesus is
    man and not God
    .
  4. mother of God
    .
  5. God created
    hell
    is a product of human fantasy.
  6. The devil and original sin do not exist.
  7. A bloody redemption at the Cross is a pagan sacrificial slaughtering of a human being, based on a model from the religious Stone Age.

She wrote:

Die Erinnerung an Rudolf Bultmann, den Gelehrten voller Hilfsbereitschaft, den Aufgeklärten voller Frömmigkeit, hat mich durch mein Leben begleitet, als bei mir die Zweifel größer wurden. Aber gleichzeitig hat mich sein Beispiel gelehrt, dass auch der Skeptiker ein Christ sein kann, wenn auch nicht auf die herkömmliche Weise. (The memory of Rudolf Bultmann, a scholar full of helpfulness and an enlightened man full of piety, has accompanied me through my life when my doubts grew. But at the same time, his example taught me that even the sceptic can be a Christian, even if not in the conventional way.)[17]

Works

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Deckers, Daniel (25 March 2021). "Streitbare Theologin : Uta Ranke-Heinemann ist tot". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  2. ^ ""A Humble Intellect" / Controversial German theologian Uta Ranke-Heinemann explains why she's glad that her former classmate has been made pope". Beliefnet.com. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Kirchenkritische Theologin Uta Ranke-Heinemann ist tot". Tagesspiegel (in German). 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  4. ISSN 0174-4909
    . Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Menne-Mickler, Marion (25 March 2021). "Streitbare Theologin Uta Ranke-Heinemann ist gestorben" (in German). WDR. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Uta Ranke-Heinemann im Alter von 93 Jahren verstorben". Die Zeit. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  7. ^ a b Getlin, Josh.Clashing With Her Church : Religion: Theologian's scathing attack on the Catholic hierarchy is selling fast. Cardinal John O'Connor calls the book "dirty" and "preposterous". Los Angeles Times, 11 February 1991]
  8. ^
    Tagesschau
    . 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Vor 50 Jahren: Uta Ranke-Heinemann wird erste Theologie-Professorin der Welt". Aachener Zeitung (in German). 26 January 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Church Bars 1st Woman Theologian". Los Angeles Times. 20 June 1987. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Uta Ranke-Heinemann ist tot". radiorst.de (in German). 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  12. OCLC 75499655.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  13. OCLC 29221407
    .
  14. OCLC 38863221
    .
  15. OCLC 221834938
    .
  16. ^ Nein und Amen. Mein Abschied vom traditionellen Christentum, p. 417
  17. ^ Nein und Amen. p. 11
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