Schriesheim - Religion

Religion

In the 16th century, Schriesheim experienced the checkered history of the Reformation in the Electoral Palatinate. In 1556 the Reformation was launched and after 1560, the Electoral Palatinate adopted Calvinism, but then under Count Palatine Ludwig VI, it returned to Lutheranism, only to finally end up in the Swiss Reformed Church.

Shortly after the 30-Years War, Schriesheim was pure Reformed but in the years that followed, Catholics, Lutherans and Jews moved in alongside the Reformed Swiss.

Jews were already resident in Schriesheim during the Middle Ages, but were driven out of the city during the year of the pestilence in 1349. Jews were again documented in Schriesheim during the 15th century. In 1644, when the village was abandoned during the Thirty Years War, the Jews also disappeared. It was only in 1651 and 1653 that two Jewish families again settled in Schriesheim. In 1858, the Jewish community reached its peak with 125 members, only to shrink, primarily because of emigration to the USA and relocation to Frankfurt and Mannheim. At the start of 1933, only 38 Jews were still living in Schriesheim, almost all of whom had left by 1938. By September 1939, there were no longer any Jews living in Schriesheim. Only four were still living in Europe at the start of the Second World War. One died a natural death of old age, two others were successful in emigrating to New York. Only Levi Schlösser fell victim to the Holocaust.

In 1705/1706, Pietistic community built up around Alexander Mack, which, in 1708 led to the introduction of adult baptism in this community, which gave them the nicknames, "Dunkers" and "dippers". Soon, as a result of growing persecution, this community had to flee and eventually emigrated to America where the formed the Church of the Brethren with its many offshoots, among them the Old German Baptist Brethren, who speak a language called Pennsylvania Dutch and which still today carries overtones of the Schriesheimer dialect.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, there were increasing numbers of Pietistic groups in Schriesheim and in 1895, Ludwig Grüber established a Baptist community.

After the Second World War, a New Apostolic Community was formed in Schriesheim.