„Der Untergang des Abendlandes“ von Oswald Spengler war eine intellektuelle Sensation nach dem ersten Weltkrieg. In diesem Aufsatz werde ich untersuchen, wie der deutsche Protestantismus auf den „Untergang des Abendlandes“ reagierte. Zuerst werden die Aufsätze in der „christlichen Welt“ analysiert, um die Skizze der Diskussion zu machen. Zunächst handelt es sich um den Schicksal-begriff in dem theologischen Gedanken von Werner Elert, Emanuel Hirsch und Karl Heim. Das Schicksal war ein Grundbegriff der Geschichtsphilosophie Spenglers und übte einen großen Einfluss auf die evangelische Theologie der 1920er Jahre aus. Elert nahm an, dass es die Seele des Christentums und das Schicksal des Christentums. Hirsch verlangte von den Deutschen, das Schicksal des Untergangs mit der völkischen Frömmigkeit zu überwinden. Heim dachte es wichtig, dass Christen subjektiv das europäische Schicksal durchleben. Zuletzt wird die Erwartung und die Sorge auf den Protestantismus von einem jüdischen Sprachwissenschaftler, Hermann Jacobsohn, betrachtet. Jacobsohn befürchtete die völkische Tendenz in der evangelischen Theologie. Zusammenfassend ist es nach wie vor schwierig, anhand des Schicksal-begriffs theologisch den Zusammenhang zwischen dem christlichen Glauben und der europäischen bzw. deutschen Geschichte zu diskutieren.

St. Ksenia is the first woman Holy Fool in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church. This article looks into the veneration of saints under Soviet socialism with its state secularism, and considers the substantivity and transformation of lived religion under socialism.

The state secularism of Soviet Russia clamped down on the Church institution, clergy, and belief. Oppression against the official Church resulted in illegal and uncanonized religious practices, which did not always need the intermediate participation of the official Church, and much relied on popular tradition rather than the official canon and rites.

During WWII the Soviet regime changed their religious policy, so that they could control religion for its own sake. The official Church tended to cooperate with the Soviet authority regarding heretical religious practices. However, the Church did not recognize Ksenia as heretical, because during the last decades of Imperial Russia, many people from various classes (including the church elite) venerated Ksenia. At the same time, the Soviet authorities did not destroy the Ksenia chapel, with consideration for Western anti-Soviet opinion. Thus, State secularism has left traces on the contemporary form of veneration of saints.

The number of Japanese followers of Jehovah's Witnesses today is more than 210,000. This study examines how Jehovah's Witnesses expanded in Japan without undergoing any wilting in the sect's unique doctrines and practices, and focuses on the missionary strategy of the world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses in the process of establishing the Japanese branch. Information about Jehovah's Witnesses is extracted from its published literature. Research has revealed that a significant part of Jehovah's Witnesses is an organizational principle termed “theocratic organization,” which stipulates that loyalty to the world headquarters is similar to loyalty toward God. Therefore, the more important problem for Japanese followers was loyalty to the world headquarters rather than adapting the sect's unique doctrines to socially accepted standards and norms in Japan. It seems that the Japanese branch compliant to the “theocratic organization” principle was established in the mid-1970s at the latest. Japanese followers are mobilized to undertake missionary work termed “pioneering,” as directed by the headquarters. The urgency of relating to the doctrine of prophecy, which is a characteristic doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, has also stirred Japanese followers to missionary work. Many Japanese followers spend considerable time on such work. Therefore, the number of Japanese followers of Jehovah's Witnesses has steadily increased even though, under the prevalent social condition, the likelihood of gaining new followers was low.