An Examination of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Engagementwith Martin Luther’s Two Kingdoms Doctrine through the Barmen Declaration

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran.

10.22059/jrm.2025.404179.630686

Abstract

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran theologian, engaged in resistance against the excesses and injustices of the regime during the rise of the Nazi government. Luther’s Two Kingdoms doctrine afforded the state considerable latitude and shielded it from religious protest and the institution of religion. Bonhoeffer, drawing upon the Barmen Declaration, offered reflections on the relationship between state and religion in his works The Cost of Discipleship and Ethics.
The problem addressed in the present article is to demonstrate, through a descriptive and analytical method, how Bonhoeffer was able to present an alternative reading of Luther’s Two Kingdoms doctrine by employing the doctrine of mandates and commitments, and how the Barmen Declaration became a window for his views on this teaching. Although he preserved the distinction between these two institutions and other spheres of human life, he endeavored to emphasize the connection and relation of the aforementioned realms to Jesus Christ and to stress the moral accountability of both state and church.
Bonhoeffer’s formulation of this doctrine does not regard the state as a secular institution, yet its connection with the religious domain does not violate the independence of either religion or sovereignty. Furthermore, Bonhoeffer’s emphasis on the service of both institutions in Christ places them alongside one another despite their distinction. Nevertheless, Bonhoeffer’s limited opportunity to develop his Ethics and this subject left certain ambiguities in his views on the matter.

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References

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Religions and Mysticism
Volume 58, Issue 2
Autumn & Winter 2025/2026
January 2026
Pages 461-481

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