Abstract

Between 1783–1795 Johann Gottfried Herder wrote a manuscript „Anfangsgründe der Religion“, which is being published here for the first time. The manuscript, which is not in Herder's handwriting, is part of his literary remains in Berlin. It is a preliminary text of Herder's „Catechetical Explanation“ to Luther's Catechism: „Luthers Katechismus. Mit einer katechetischen Erklärung zum Gebrauch der Schulen“, which was used as a schoolbook in Sachsen-Weimar from 1798 until 1884. This manuscript seems to be an instruction book for the private tutor of the Herder family. Herder explains the Apostles' creed as three „Wohltaten“ of God in a similar way as Herder himself had learned it in the Prussian catechism of his own childhood. In addition to the biblical references he also refers to chorals and contemporary poems.