PhD Oral Exam - Neil R. Matthews, Religion

When studying for a doctoral degree (PhD), candidates submit a thesis that provides a critical review of the current state of knowledge of the thesis subject as well as the student’s own contributions to the subject. The distinguishing criterion of doctoral graduate research is a significant and original contribution to knowledge.

Once accepted, the candidate presents the thesis orally. This oral exam is open to the public.

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate that Third Reich National Socialism was a human-sacrificial political religion; a Modern genocidal idolatry. Discernment of Third Reich NS as an idolatrous human-sacrificial political religion facilitates historiography of Third Reich social, educational, legal, political, military, and concentrationary institutions including ghettos, labor camps and killing centers. In addition to facilitating historiography pertaining to all spheres of Germany society throughout the period climaxing in war and genocide, my research contributes to fulfilling humanity's redemptive obligation to give authentic testimony- witness - to the collective human story including the Holocaust. In reference to this obligation, Emil Fackenheim states: "One cannot, however, bear witness without understanding" (Fackenheim 1973, 176}. My dissertation contributes to that understanding.

Methodologically, the dissertation establishes the need for a phenomenology of political religion as it applies to Third Reich NS, reviews its current field of conceptual frameworks, and then presents, adjusts and expands Eric Voegelin's phenomenology of political religion as he applies it to National Socialism in his The Political Religions and Hitler and the Germans. This produces the conceptual framework in which to proceed.

I next investigate evidence to argue that National Socialism was a political religion. Areas of evidence include external manifestations (e.g., the character and content of mass festivals, annual public rituals, German behaviours during contact with Jews}, as well as inner spiritual content and expression (National Socialist ideology; poetry; Hitler Youth morning prayers; literature including excerpts from Herbert Bohme, Gerhard Schumann, Joseph Goebbels, Hitler, Julius Streicher, Baldur von Schirach, Eugen Hadamovsky, and Georg Schott).

Following integration of Rene Girard, Walter Burkert and Hyam Maccoby to produce a framework of human-sacrificial psychology, I demonstrate the human-sacrificial character of the genocide against the Jews. After categorically distinguishing between Ancient and Modern forms of idolatry, Jewish philosopher-theologian Emil Fackenheim frames Third Reich NS as a Modern genocidal idolatry involving a religious psychology in common with Ancient human-sacrificial idol-worship; this contributes directly to authentic historiography including bearing witness to the Holocaust.