Christian Democracy: A Thing of the Past? Jan-Werner Müller to Give the Jan Patočka Memorial Lecture
The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) invites you to a high-profile lecture on the future of Christian democracy in Europe on December 11, 2025. Renowned political philosopher Prof. Dr. Jan-Werner Müller from Princeton University will give the 36th Jan Patočka Memorial Lecture under the provocative title “What Was Christian Democracy?”
Jan-Werner Müller is a German political scientist and professor at Princeton University. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons/ Prof. Jan-Werner Müller / CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en)
After World War II, Christian democracy played a fundamental role in shaping European politics by reconciling Catholicism and modern democracy. Müller, who is also co-founder of the European College of Liberal Arts (ECLA) in Berlin, will shed light on these historical developments in his lecture.
What remains of the former force for integration?
Müller, known for his works such as What is Populism? (2016) and Freedom, Equality, Uncertainty: How to Create Democracy? (2021) explores the question of whether anything remains of this former integrative power today. His research suggests that Christian democracy shaped the political world in which Europeans live today, particularly through its role as an anti-communist movement and in the creation of the post-war order.
Müller's analysis of the relationship between Christian democracy and the current political trends of populism and “post-liberalism” is particularly exciting. Both claim the legacy of Christian democratic thought for themselves. Müller thus examines the profound divisions and uncertainties in modern democracies.
Background to the Patočka Memorial Lecture
The Jan Patočka Memorial Lecture honors the legacy of Czech thinker Jan Patočka (1907–1977), co-founder of the civil rights movement Charta 77 and one of Central Europe's most important modern philosophers. 5 The lecture series, organized by the IWM, was launched in 1987 by Hans-Georg Gadamer and has already provided a platform for scholars such as Jacques Derrida and Axel Honneth.
The event will begin on December 11, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. CET in the IWM Library and will be moderated by IWM Permanent Fellow Ludger Hagedorn, with welcoming remarks by Rector Misha Glenny. You can register here!