Anabaptist and Mennonite Identity: Permeable Boundaries and Expanding Definitions
This article provides an overview of Anabaptist and Mennonite historical and theological scholarship, supporting the claim that the field of study is becoming increasingly multi-faceted and complex. This is due in part to the increasingly global character of the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition that t...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
2014
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| In: |
Religion compass
Year: 2014, Volume: 8, Issue: 6, Pages: 199-207 |
| Online Access: |
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| Summary: | This article provides an overview of Anabaptist and Mennonite historical and theological scholarship, supporting the claim that the field of study is becoming increasingly multi-faceted and complex. This is due in part to the increasingly global character of the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition that traces its roots to the 16th-century Radical Reformation. The first Anabaptists emerged in Zurich Switzerland in 1525, but their reforming brand soon spread to the environs of Austria, Moravia, Germany, and the Netherlands. The name ‘Mennonite’ is associated with Menno Simons, (1496-1561), a Dutch reformer who left the Roman Catholic Church to join the Anabaptist movement in 1536. He became an important leader, organizing congregations and providing counsel for reforming groups. In the 1540s, ecclesial and state authorities in the Netherlands began to identify the followers of this Dutch reformer as ‘Menists’ or ‘Mennonists.’ As the centuries past, Menno Simons's name was embraced by various Anabaptist groups in Europe and North America. More recently, the name has also been adopted by Christian communities in the global south. Today, some 1.7 million baptized Mennonites live in over 80 countries. An additional number of people identify themselves as Mennonite in the sense of having an ethnic, rather than religious, connection to the name. |
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| ISSN: | 1749-8171 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion compass
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/rec3.12108 |