Bibliographic information:
Karla Poewe and Irving Hexham, “The Völkisch Modernist Beginnings of National Socialism: Its Intrusion into the Church and its Antisemitic Consequence,” in Religion Compass, Vol 3 (Is 4): 676–696.
Description:
The main thesis of this paper is that Nazi religiosity has its origins in the pagan phenomenon called the völkisch movement. This movement consisted of uncountable religious-cum-political groups called Bünde whose leaders and followers were closely interconnected with one another and with the developing Nazi Party. From there völkisch thought penetrated the German Protestant Church and found followers among some Catholics. Given this development, an obvious question follows, namely, can National Socialism be blamed on Christianity and is Christian anti-Judaism the ultimate source of the Holocaust?