Herbert Haag (11 February 1915 – 23 August 2001) was a Swiss

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

theologian and

biblical scholar Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

of German origin. Haag was born in Singen am Hohentwiel. After studying theology in Paris for the

diocese of Basel The Diocese of Basel (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (). Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss Cantons of Switze ...

in 1940, he was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and worked for several years as a pastor in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

. In 1942 Haag attained his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (; ) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg ...

. From 1948 to 1960, he taught Old Testament studies at the Theological Faculty of Lucerne, and from 1960 to 1980 he held the chair of Old Testament at the Catholic Theological Faculty at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

. Known in particular for his biblical scholarship and exegesis, he edited a well-known Bible dictionary. Haag's 1969 book ''Farewell to the Devil'' is noted for having been the first Catholic denial in the

modern era The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

of the existence of the

devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

as constitutive of the Christian faith, claiming it to be merely linked to a cultural frame inherited from both

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

and

paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

. Haag's position was criticized by then

Cardinal Ratzinger Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as po ...

. Pope Paul VI reacted in a rescript of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

in 1972 on the topic of the existence of the devil, showing Haag's theological position to be erroneous. Haag also criticized dogmas of church doctrine, such as

original sin Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

, celibacy of the clergy and the ban on the

ordination of women The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...

. In his last years he emerged as a critic of the institutional church. In 1981 Haag had signed an open letter to Swiss newspapers contending that a wrong had been done to

Hans Küng Hans Küng (; 19 March 1928 – 6 April 2021) was a Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author. From 1995 he was president of the Foundation for a Global Ethic (Stiftung Weltethos). Küng was ordained a priest in 1954, joined the faculty ...

in 1979, when the Vatican decreed that Küng was no longer recognised as a Catholic theologian because of his denial of

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

. In 1985 the ''Herbert Haag Foundation for Freedom in the Church'' was founded. The Foundation awards the ''Herbert Haag Prize''. Herbert Haag passed away in

at the age of 86.

Works

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

, ''Bibel-Lexikon''. 2nd edition. Einsiedeln and Zurich: Benziger, 1968. * ''Biblische Schöpfungslehre und kirchliche Erbsündenlehre''. Stuttgarter Bibelstudien 10. Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1966; 4th edition 1968. and * * * * Perlentaucherbr>Links
(in German)

Awards

* 2000: Prix Courage * 2001: Pin of Lucerne

References

External links

* Victor Conzemius
Herbert Haag (theologian)
in the

Historical Dictionary of Switzerland The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' (Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse; DHS) is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland. It aims to present the history of Switzerland in the form of an encyclopaedia, published both on paper a ...

A theologian of a special kind
(imprimatur 11/2001)
Herbert Haag-Foundation

Audio recordings with Herbert Haag
in the Online Archive of the Österreichische Mediathek (Interviews and lectures in German). Retrieved 2 September 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Haag, Herbert Dissident Roman Catholic theologians 1915 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Swiss Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Swiss Roman Catholic theologians Academic staff of the University of Tübingen People from Singen Roman Catholic biblical scholars Swiss biblical scholars

Works

Awards

See also

References

External links