Uta Ranke-Heinemann

Uta Ranke-Heinemann (2 October 1927 – 25 March 2021) was a German theologian, academic, and author. In 1969, she was the first woman in the world to be habilitated in Catholic theology. She held a chair of ancient Church history and the New Testament at the University of Essen. When her license to teach was revoked by the bishop because of her critical position in matters of faith, the university created a nondenominational chair of History of Religion. Her 1988 book Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven, criticizing the Catholic Church's stance on women and sexuality, was published in several editions, and translated in 12 languages. Her 1992 book Nein und Amen, revised in 2002, said there were "fairy tales you don't need to believe to have a living faith".

Life and career Uta Heinemann was born in Essen; her parents were Calvinist Protestants. Her father Gustav Heinemann was to become the third President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1969 as a first member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in the position. She was an excellent student, the only girl accepted at the , where she passed the Abitur with distinction. Heinemann converted to Catholicism in 1953, One of her fellow students and a friend at that time was Joseph Ratzinger, later known as Pope Benedict XVI.

In 1969, Ranke-Heinemann became the first woman in the world to be habilitated in Catholic theology The University of Essen created a new chair for her, for History of Religion.

Beliefs

Ranke-Heinemann's book Nein und Amen, announcing her break with the church, was first published in 1992 and reprinted several times; the book was translated into English as Putting Away Childish Things. Spanish and Polish translations followed. She revised it in 2002, after the death of her husband, with the new subtitle Mein Abschied vom traditionellen Christentum, declaring a sevenfold "farewell to traditional Christianity":

The Bible is not the word of God but the word of men. That God exists in three persons is the imagination of men. Jesus is man and not God. Mary is the mother of Jesus and not the mother of God. God created heaven and earth, but hell is a product of human imagination. The devil and original sin do not exist. A bloody redemption at the Cross is a pagan sacrificial slaughtering of a human being, based on a model from the religious Stone Age.

She wrote:

Works

Translated into English as:

Extended 2012 edition:

1992 edition translated as: