Albrecht Benjamin Ritschl, the German theologian, was born in Berlin and studied theology at Bonn, Halle, Heidelberg, and Tübingen. He taught theology at Bonn from 1846 to 1864, and at Göttingen for the remainder of his career. Ritschl reexamined Christianity in the light of neo-Kantianism and historicist principles. After 1875 his influence was widespread in a number of German universities and led to increased interest in religious psychology, comparative religion, and related fields. However, his school came under sharp criticism from orthodox, pietist, and liberal quarters.

Ritschl undertook to establish Christian theology as an autonomous and systematic discipline. To do this he had first to purge German religious thought of pietism, Hegelian speculative theism, and the pantheism of Friedrich Schleiermacher and then to apply the techniques and results of contemporary literary and historical criticism. On the basis of Immanuel Kant's ascription of priority...