Inquisition und Buchzensur im Zeitalter der Aufklärung

Catholicism and the Enlightenment – these two concepts seem like fire and water and the notion of Catholic Enlightenment seems virtually impossible.

Looking at the censorship activities of the Congregation of the Index and the Roman Inquisition, one can easily see this preconception confirmed, for eighteenth-century scrutiny of the book market focused on Enlightenment thinkers and Enlightenment thought – and not only in Rome but in England, Protestant Germany and other places as well. However, Enlightened thought also had an effect on censors and censorship. Censorship of cultural practices and censorship as cultural practice are thus two sides of the same coin. The "Basic Research" Project has paved the way for such a differentiated understanding. The possibilities suggested by the foundational research on the eighteenth century were first critically explored at the symposium held in Münster in December 2009. The proceedings of the symposium are documented in this volume.

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Hubert WOLF (ed.), Inquisition und Buchzensur im Zeitalter der Aufklärung, Paderborn et alibi 2011, 479 pages, hardcover, ISBN 978-3-5067-7147-6 .