Title: Goethe’s Concept of “Privatreligion” and Redemption in the Final Scene of Faust

Abstract: With regard to redemption in the final scene of Goethe’s Faust, there are three distinct interpretative paths: the secular-humanistic striving thesis, the Protestant doctrine of grace, and the Catholic theory of intercession. Based on their respective epistemological backgrounds and confessional stances, scholars draw upon different textual evidences to substantiate their specific interpretations of redemption. However, these conclusions frequently contradict one another, precluding a coherent and unified interpretation. The present paper attempts to transcend the Protestant and Catholic theological interpretative paradigms by referencing the early pantheism and alchemical concepts that Goethe articulates in Dichtung und Wahrheit, in order to examine the notion of “Privatreligion” manifested in the final scene of Faust.

Keywords: Goethe, Faust, “Privatreligion”

Author: Zhenghua Hu, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Foreign Languages, Peking University, Beijing, China.

DOI: 10.19967/j.cnki.flc.2026.03.012