Editing Anthroposophy (section)

==Relationship to religion==

===Christ as the center of earthly evolution===
Steiner's writing, though appreciative of all religions and cultural developments, emphasizes Western tradition as having evolved to meet contemporary needs.<ref name="Lachman" /> He describes Christ and his mission on earth of bringing individuated consciousness as having a particularly important place in human evolution,<ref name="Essential" /> whereby:<ref name="Willmann" />
*Christianity has evolved out of previous religions;
*The being which manifests in Christianity also manifests in all faiths and religions, and each religion is valid and true for the time and cultural context in which it was born;
*All historical forms of Christianity need to be transformed considerably to meet the continuing evolution of humanity.

{{Blockquote|Spiritual science does not want to usurp the place of Christianity; on the contrary it would like to be instrumental in making Christianity understood. Thus it becomes clear to us through spiritual science that the being whom we call Christ is to be recognized as the center of life on earth, that the Christian religion is the ultimate religion for the earth's whole future. Spiritual science shows us particularly that the pre-Christian religions outgrow their one-sidedness and come together in the Christian faith. It is not the desire of spiritual science to set something else in the place of Christianity; rather it wants to contribute to a deeper, more heartfelt understanding of Christianity.<ref>Rudolf Steiner,[http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/AntChr_index.html "Anthroposophy and Christianity"]</ref>}}

Thus, anthroposophy considers there to be a being who unifies all religions, and who is not represented by any particular religious faith. This being is, according to Steiner, not only the Redeemer of [[the Fall of Man|the Fall from Paradise]], but also the unique pivot and meaning of earth's evolutionary processes and of human history.<ref name="Willmann" /> To describe this being, Steiner periodically used terms such as the "Representative of Humanity" or the "good spirit"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Steiner |first=Rudolf |title=The foundations of human experience |publisher=Anthroposophic Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-88010-392-3 |page=34}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Steiner |first=Rudolf |date=December 16, 1908 |title=A Chapter of Occult History |url=http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/19081216p01.html}}</ref> rather than any denominational term.

===Divergence from conventional Christian thought===
Steiner's views of Christianity diverge from conventional Christian thought in key places, and include [[gnostism|gnostic]]{{efn-lr|Gnosticism meaning "In the broadest sense of the term this is any spiritual teaching that says that spiritual knowledge (Greek: ''gnosis'') or wisdom (''sophia'') rather than doctrinal faith (''pistis'') or some ritual practice is the main route to supreme spiritual attainment."<ref name="McClelland 2018 p. ">{{Cite book |last=McClelland |first=Norman C. |title=Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma |date=15 October 2018 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5675-8 |page=100 |chapter=Gnosticism |quote=In the broadest sense of the term this is any spiritual teaching that says that spiritual knowledge (Greek: ''gnosis'') or wisdom (''sophia'') rather than doctrinal faith (''pistis'') or some ritual practice is the main route to supreme spiritual attainment. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S_Leq4U5ihkC&dq=gnosticism+reincarnation&pg=PA100}}</ref>}} elements:

* One central point of divergence is Steiner's views on [[reincarnation]] and karma.
* Steiner differentiated three contemporary paths by which he believed it possible to arrive at [[Christ]]:
** Through heart-felt experiences of the [[Gospels]]; Steiner described this as the historically dominant path, but becoming less important in the future.
** Through inner experiences of a spiritual reality; this Steiner regarded as increasingly the path of spiritual or religious seekers today.
** Through [[initiation|initiatory experiences]] whereby the reality of Christ's death and resurrection are experienced; Steiner believed this is the path people will increasingly take.<ref name="Willmann" />
* Steiner also believed that there were two different [[Jesus]] children involved in the [[Incarnation]] of the Christ: one child descended from [[Solomon]], as described in the [[Gospel of Matthew]], the other child from [[Nathan (son of David)|Nathan]], as described in the [[Gospel of Luke]].<ref name="Essential" /><ref name="aspremthesis" /><ref name="x337">{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=Marshall D. |title=The Purpose of the Biblical Genealogies with Special Reference to the Setting of the Genealogies of Jesus |date=1969 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-07317-2 |editor-last=Black |editor-first=Matthew |publication-place=London |page=144}}</ref> (The genealogies given in the two gospels diverge some thirty generations before Jesus' birth, and 'Jesus' was a common name in biblical times.)
* His view of [[the second coming]] of Christ is also unusual; he suggested that this would not be a physical reappearance, but that the Christ being would become manifest in non-physical form, visible to spiritual vision and apparent in community life for increasing numbers of people beginning around the year 1933.<ref>Rudolf Steiner, [http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/ReapChrist/19100125p01.html "The Appearance of Christ in the Etheric World"]</ref>
* He emphasized his belief that in the future humanity would need to be able to recognize the ''Spirit of Love'' in all its genuine forms, regardless of what name would be used to describe this being. He also warned that the traditional name of the ''Christ'' might be misused, and the true essence of this being of love ignored.

{{blockquote|Theosophy, together with its continental sister, Anthroposophy... are pure Gnosticism in Hindu dress...<ref name="Robertson 2021 p. 57">{{Cite book |last=Robertson |first=David G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B6s5EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 |title=Gnosticism and the History of Religions |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-350-13770-7 |series=Scientific Studies of Religion: Inquiry and Explanation |page=57 |quote=Theosophy, together with its continental sister, Anthroposophy... are pure Gnosticism in Hindu dress... |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>|[[C.G. Jung]]}}

According to Jane Gilmer, "Jung and Steiner were both versed in ancient gnosis and both envisioned a paradigmatic shift in the way it was delivered."<ref name="Gilmer 2021 p. 41">{{Cite book |last=Gilmer |first=Jane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUAvEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41 |title=The Alchemical Actor |publisher=Brill |year=2021 |isbn=978-90-04-44942-8 |series=Consciousness, Literature and the Arts |page=41 |quote=Jung and Steiner were both versed in ancient gnosis and both envisioned a paradigmatic shift in the way it was delivered. |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>

As [[Gilles Quispel]] put it, "After all, Theosophy is a pagan, Anthroposophy a Christian form of modern Gnosis."<ref name="Layton 1980 p. ">Sources for 'Quispel':{{Bulleted list|{{Cite book |last=Quispel |first=Gilles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBTXAAAAMAAJ |title=The Rediscovery of Gnosticism: The school of Valentinus |publisher=E.J. Brill |year=1980 |isbn=978-90-04-06176-7 |editor-last=Layton |editor-first=Bentley |series=Studies in the history of religions : Supplements to Numen |page=123 |quote=After all, Theosophy is a pagan, Anthroposophy a Christian form of modern Gnosis. |access-date=3 January 2023}}|{{cite book | last1=Quispel | first1=Gilles | last2=Oort | first2=Johannes van | title=Gnostica, Judaica, Catholica. Collected Essays of Gilles Quispel | publisher=Brill | series=Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies | year=2008 | isbn=978-90-474-4182-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2u15DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA370 | access-date=3 January 2023 | page=370}}}}</ref>

Maria Carlson stated "Theosophy and Anthroposophy are fundamentally Gnostic systems in that they posit the dualism of Spirit and Matter."<ref name="Livak 2018 p. 58">{{Cite book |last=Carlson |first=Maria |title=A Reader's Guide to Andrei Bely's "petersburg |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-299-31930-4 |editor-last=Livak |editor-first=Leonid |page=58 |chapter=Petersburg and Modern Occultism |quote=Theosophy and Anthroposophy are fundamentally Gnostic systems in that they posit the dualism of Spirit and Matter. |access-date=3 January 2023 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yS93DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA58}}</ref> She also stated that Theosophy and Anthroposophy "are both modern gnostic doctrines."<ref name="d438">{{cite book | last=Carlson | first=Maria | editor-last=Kornblatt | editor-first=Judith Deutsch | editor-last2=Gustafson | editor-first2=Richard F. | title=Russian Religious Thought | publisher=University of Wisconsin Press | series=Russian studies: Religion | year=1996 | isbn=978-0-299-15134-8 | chapter=Gnostic Elements in Soloviev's Cosmogony | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AqwGUM4tFoEC&pg=PA53 | access-date=17 November 2024 | page=53}}</ref>

[[R. McL. Wilson]] in ''The Oxford Companion to the Bible'' agrees that Steiner and Anthroposophy are under the influence of gnosticism.<ref name="Metzger Coogan 1993 p. 256">{{Cite book |last=McL. Wilson |first=Robert |title=The Oxford Companion to the Bible |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-19-974391-9 |editor-last=Metzger |editor-first=Bruce M. |series=Oxford Companions |page=256 |chapter=Gnosticism |quote=Gnosticism has often been regarded as bizarre and outlandish, and certainly it is not easily understood until it is examined in its contemporary setting. It was, however, no mere playing with words and ideas, but a serious attempt to resolve real problems: the nature and destiny of the human race, the problem of *evil, the human predicament. To a gnostic it brought a release and joy and hope, as if awakening from a nightmare. One later offshoot, Manicheism, became for a time a world religion, reaching as far as China, and there are at least elements of gnosticism in such medieval movements as those of the Bogomiles and the Cathari. Gnostic influence has been seen in various works of modern literature, such as those of William Blake and W. B. Yeats, and is also to be found in the Theosophy of Madame Blavatsky and the Anthroposophy of Rudolph Steiner. Gnosticism was of lifelong interest to the psychologist C. G. *Jung, and one of the Nag Hammadi codices (the Jung Codex) was for a time in the Jung Institute in Zurich. |access-date=3 January 2023 |editor-last2=Coogan |editor-first2=Michael D. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y2KGVuym5OUC&pg=PA256}}</ref>

[[Robert A. McDermott]] says Anthroposophy belongs to Christian [[Rosicrucianism]].<ref name="Eliade 1987 p. ">{{Cite book |last=McDermott |first=Robert A. |title=The Encyclopedia of Religion |date=1987 |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |isbn=0-02-909700-2 |editor-last=Eliade |editor-first=Mircea |publication-place=New York |page=320 |chapter=Anthroposophy}}</ref><ref name="g904">{{cite book | last=McDermott | first=Robert A. | editor-last1=Faivre | editor-first1=Antoine | editor-last2=Needleman | editor-first2=Jacob | editor-last3=Voss | editor-first3=Karen | title=Modern Esoteric Spirituality | publisher=Crossroad Publishing | publication-place=New York | date=1992 | isbn=0-8245-1145-X | page=288 | chapter=Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy | quote=Rudolf Steiner was an esoteric teacher in the Rosicrucian-Christian tradition who delineated a comprehensive and detailed account of the evolution of consciousness as a background to his plea for the transformation of thinking, feeling, and willing in the present century. }}</ref> According to [[Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke]], Rudolf Steiner "blended modern Theosophy with a Gnostic form of Christianity, Rosicrucianism, and German Naturphilosophie".<ref name="Steiner Seddon Goodrick-Clarke 2004 p. 7">{{Cite book |last1=Steiner |first1=Rudolf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dkw96EUVPfwC&pg=PA7 |title=Rudolf Steiner |last2=Seddon |first2=Richard |last3=Goodrick-Clarke |first3=Nicholas |publisher=North Atlantic Books |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-55643-490-7 |series=Western Esoteric Masters |page=7 |language=en |quote="blended modern Theosophy with a Gnostic form of Christianity, Rosicrucianism, and German Naturphilosophie" |access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref>

Geoffrey Ahern states that Anthroposophy belongs to neo-gnosticism broadly conceived, which he identifies with [[Western esotericism]] and [[occultism]].<ref name="Ahern 2009 p. 11">{{Cite book |last=Ahern |first=Geoffrey |title=Sun at Midnight |publisher=James Clarke Company |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-227-17293-3 |publication-place=Cambridge |page=11 |orig-year=1984}}</ref>

[[Stefanie von Schnurbein]] briefly agrees that Steiner propagated Gnostic Christianity.<ref name="i639">{{cite book | last=Schnurbein | first=Stefanie von | title=Norse Revival: Transformations of Germanic Neopaganism | publisher=BRILL | publication-place=Boston | date=2016 | isbn=978-90-04-30951-7 | pages=34–35 fn. 57}}</ref>

{{blockquote|1=Was Steiner a Gnostic? Yes and no. Yes, from the point of view that he offered insights and methods for a personal experience of Christ. I have formulated this aspect of his work as his hermeneutical key: 'not I, but Christ in me'. No, from the point of view that he was not trying to reestablish Gnosticism's practices into a neo-gnostic tradition. Steiner was, in his times, well aware of concerns articulated more recently by Pope Francis about the two subtle enemies of holiness, contemporary Gnosticism and contemporary Pelagianism.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Samson |first=Martin |title=The Christology of Rudolf Steiner |date=2023 |degree=PhD |publisher=Flinders University |url=https://flex.flinders.edu.au/items/4cb1a804-963e-4a75-8b02-69bcfaa63110/1/?.vi=file&attachment.uuid=c450e767-a595-4981-a4b7-546ae735f46b |page=180}}</ref>|2={{harvnb|Samson|2023|p=180}}}}

{{blockquote|1=Granted that Steiner included Gnostic elements in his cosmological reinterpretation of Christianity, many of them from the ''Pistis Sophia,'' Steiner was not a Gnostic in the sense of someone who held that the world was ruled by a demiurge, that matter was evil, or that it was possible to escape from this fallen universe by acquiring secret spiritual knowledge. To characterize the structure of his thought as derived from Syrio-Egyptian gnosis (Ahern 2010) may be too strong and plays down the fact that he was critical of early Gnostic Christianity as having no adequate idea of Jesus as a man of flesh and blood.<ref name="v029">{{Cite book |last=Hudson |first=Wayne |title=The gnostic world |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-1-315-56160-8 |editor-last=Trompf |editor-first=Garry W. |publication-place=London; New York |page=510 |chapter=Rudolf Steiner: Multiple bodies |editor-last2=Mikkelsen |editor-first2=Gunner B. |editor-last3=Johnston |editor-first3=Jay}} apud {{harvnb|Samson|2023|p=56}}</ref>|2={{harvnb|Hudson|2019|p=510}}}}

According to Catholic scholars Anthroposophy belongs to the [[New Age]].<ref name="q189">{{Cite journal |last1=G.K. Chesterton Society |last2=G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture |date=February–May 2000 |title=A conference on ''New Age'' and Christian spirituality |url=http://www.cultura.va/content/dam/cultura/docs/pdf/Rivista/2001-2.pdf |journal=The Chesterton Review |publisher=G.K. Chesterton Society, 1974- G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture |publication-place=Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; South Orange, New Jersey |volume=XXVI |issue=1&2 |issn=0317-0500 |oclc=2247651 |quote=One needs to recognise several things in New Age in order not to over-react: it is not monolithic; it is not a den of demons; nor is it a den of fools. Three main currents need to be taken very seriously, even if they reject being included in the broad term New Age. They are René Guénon’s tariqa or school of intellectual Sufism, Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophy and 'the Work', devised by Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Pontifical Council for Culture |last2=Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue |title=Jesus Christ the bearer of the water of life. A Christian reflection on the "New Age" |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html |access-date=18 May 2024 |website=vatican.va |publisher=The Catholic Church |quote=The Age of Aquarius has such a high profile in the ''New Age'' movement largely because of the influence of theosophy, spiritualism and anthroposophy, and their esoteric antecedents. |location=The State of Vatican}}</ref>

Elizabeth Dipple stated that Rudolf Steiner's system was a "neo-Platonic, semi-Gnostic, occult anthroposophical system [...] with its allegiance to mystical Christianity, Rosicrucianism and certain versions of spiritualism [...]".<ref name="y640">{{cite book | last=Dipple | first=Elizabeth | title=The Unresolvable Plot: Reading Contemporary Fiction | publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=Routledge Library Editions: Modern Fiction | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-000-63913-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MyGzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT328 | access-date=17 November 2024 | page=unpaginated}}</ref>

Carl Abrahamsson stated that Steiner posited a gnostic Christ.<ref name="a836">{{cite book | last1=Abrahamsson | first1=Carl | last2=Lachman | first2=Gary | title=Occulture: The Unseen Forces That Drive Culture Forward | publisher=Inner Traditions/Bear | year=2018 | isbn=978-1-62055-704-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dt0zDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT82 | access-date=17 November 2024 | page=unpaginated | quote=This gnostic Christ principle balances the ungrounded [...]}}</ref>

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke described Anthroposophy as a [modern] offshoot of Ancient Gnosticism, especially of "the aeons of the Valentinian pleroma".<ref name="b670">{{cite book | first=Nicholas | last=Goodrick-Clarke | editor-last=Hammer | editor-first=Olav | editor-last2=Rothstein | editor-first2=Mikael | title=Handbook of the Theosophical Current | publisher=Brill | series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion | year=2013 | isbn=978-90-04-23597-7 | chapter=Western Esoteric Traditions and Theosophy | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VozAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA301 | access-date=17 November 2024 | page=301}}</ref>

Steiner's theology is "redemption through sin", he accuses good Christians of killing the spirit of Christianity.{{sfn|Lazier|2008|p=208 fn. 6}}

===Judaism===
Rudolf Steiner wrote and lectured on Judaism and Jewish issues over much of his adult life. He was a fierce opponent of popular antisemitism, but asserted that there was no justification for the existence of Judaism and Jewish culture in the modern world, a radical assimilationist perspective which saw the Jews completely integrating into the larger society.<ref>Jan-Erik Ebbestad Hansen, [https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/8831 The Jews – Teachers of the Nazis?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419210521/https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/8831 |date=2018-04-19 }} In: NORDEUROPAforum. Journal for the Study of Culture. Yearbook 2015. Humboldt University Berlin. {{ISSN|1863-639X}}.</ref><ref name="Peter">{{cite journal|first=Peter|last=Staudenmaier|url=https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context=hist_fac|title=Rudolf Steiner and the Jewish Question|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916050406/http://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context=hist_fac|archive-date=2017-09-16|journal=Leo Baeck Institute Yearbook|volume=50|issue=1|year=2005|pages=127–147|doi=10.1093/leobaeck/50.1.127|issn=0075-8744}}</ref><ref name="Ralf">Ralf Sonnenberg, [http://www.hagalil.com/antisemitismus/deutschland/steiner.htm "Judentum, Zionismus und Antisemitismus aus der Sicht Rudolf Steiners"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203070920/http://www.hagalil.com/antisemitismus/deutschland/steiner.htm |date=2014-02-03 }}</ref> He also supported [[Émile Zola]]'s position in the [[Dreyfus affair]].<ref name=Ralf/> Steiner emphasized Judaism's central importance to the constitution of the modern era in the West but suggested that to appreciate the spirituality of the future it would need to overcome its tendency toward abstraction.

Steiner financed the publication of the book ''Die Entente-Freimaurerei und der Weltkrieg'' (1919) by {{ill|Karl Heise|de}}; Steiner also wrote the foreword for the book, partly based upon his own ideas.<ref name="Piraino Pasi Asprem 2022 p. 126">{{Cite book |last=French |first=Aaron |title=Religious Dimensions of Conspiracy Theories: Comparing and Connecting Old and New Trends |publisher=Routledge |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-000-78268-4 |editor-last=Piraino |editor-first=Francesco |publication-place=London |pages=107–123 |chapter=Esoteric Nationalism and Conspiracism in WWI |doi=10.4324/9781003120940-8 |quote=One man inspired by Steiner's lectures during World War I was the enigmatic Karl Heise, who, in 1918, published a now classic work of anti-Masonry and anti-Judaism entitled ''Die Entente-Freimaurerei und der Weltkrieg'', which was partially backed by Steiner, who wrote a cagey introduction to the first edition, very cautiously choosing his words and not signing his name (Zander, 2007, p. 991). |access-date=2024-03-01 |editor-last2=Pasi |editor-first2=Marco |editor-last3=Asprem |editor-first3=Egil |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ksKZEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT126}}</ref>{{sfn|Zander|2007|pp=991–992|ps=: "Ein weiteres Motiv könnte in der Kollision von Steiners Freimaureraktivitäten mit seinem deutschen Patriotismus liegen (s. 14.3.1). Nach dem Krieg nannte Steiner diesen Punkt sehr deutlich, als er in Karl Heises »Die Entente-Freimaurerei und der Weltkrieg«, in der es um die Kriegsschuldfrage ging{{sup|178}}, ein nicht gezeichnetes, auf den 10. Oktober 1918 datiertes Vorwort verfaßte, sich also einen Monat vor dem Waffenstillstand und inmitten des Zusammenbruchs des Deutschen Reiches äußerte. »Die Geheimgesellschaften der Entente-Länder«, hieß es dort, hätten eine »die Weltkatastrophe vorbereitende politische Gesinnung und Beeinflussung der Weltereignisse« an den Tag gelegt. Bei der Suche nach der »Schuld am Weltkriege« habe man auch an die Freimaurer zu denken. Dies war nicht nur eine reduktive Lösung der »Kriegsschuldfrage« im Jahr 1918, sondern möglicherweise auch ein Hinweis auf seine Motivlage im Jahr 1914: Steiner hätte sich dann aus Solidarität mit Deutschland aus dem Internationalismus der Freimaurerei verabschiedet{{sup|179}}. Andere theosophische Gesellschaften haben diesen Schnitt übrigens nicht so deutlich vollzogen{{sup|180}}."}}{{sfn|Staudenmaier|2014|p=96|ps=: "The foremost example of a full-fledged antisemitic conspiracy theory based squarely on anthroposophist premises was Karl Heise's 1919 tome blaming the World War on a cabal of freemasons and Jews. Heise wrote the book with Steiner's encouragement and founded its argument on Steiner's own teachings, while Steiner himself wrote the foreword and contributed a substantial sum toward publication costs.{{sup|101}}"}} The publication comprised a [[conspiracy theory]] according to whom World War I was a consequence of a collusion of [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]] and [[Jews]] – still favorite scapegoats of the conspiracy theorists – their purpose being the destruction of Germany. Fact is that Steiner spent a large sum of money for publishing{{sfn|Staudenmaier|2014|p=96|ps=: "The foremost example of a full-fledged antisemitic conspiracy theory based squarely on anthroposophist premises was Karl Heise's 1919 tome blaming the World War on a cabal of freemasons and Jews. Heise wrote the book with Steiner's encouragement and founded its argument on Steiner's own teachings, while Steiner himself wrote the foreword and contributed a substantial sum toward publication costs.{{sup|101}}"}} "a now classic work of anti-Masonry and anti-Judaism".<ref name="Piraino Pasi Asprem 2022 p. 126" /> The writing was later enthusiastically received by the Nazi Party.{{sfn|Zander|2007|pp=306, 991–992}}{{sfn|Staudenmaier|2014|pp=96–97}}

In his later life, Steiner was accused by the Nazis of being Jewish, and [[Adolf Hitler]] called anthroposophy "Jewish methods". The anthroposophical institutions in Germany were banned during Nazi rule and several anthroposophists sent to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]].<ref name="Staudenmaierthesis" /><ref>Lorenzo Ravagli, ''Unter Hammer und Hakenkreuz: Der völkisch-nationalsozialistische Kampf gegen die Anthroposophie'', Verlag Freies Geistesleben, {{ISBN|3-7725-1915-6}}</ref> Later, the non-Aryan, the non-German, and the antifascist members of the direction board of the Anthroposophical Society were purged from it; it is unclear if that happened due to Nazi ideology or for other reasons, but the purge clearly brought the Anthroposophic Society closer to Nazism.{{sfn|McKanan|2017|pp=33–34, 196}}

Important early anthroposophists who were Jewish included two central members on the executive boards of the precursors to the modern Anthroposophical Society,<ref>[http://biographien.kulturimpuls.org/detail.php?&id=24 Adolf Arenson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402181944/http://biographien.kulturimpuls.org/detail.php?&id=24 |date=2015-04-02 }} (board member 1904–1913) and [http://biographien.kulturimpuls.org/detail.php?&id=724 Carl Unger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131232/http://biographien.kulturimpuls.org/detail.php?&id=724 |date=2015-04-02 }} (board member 1908–1923)</ref> and Karl König, the founder of the [[Camphill movement]], who had converted to Christianity.{{sfn|Paddock|Spiegler|2003|pp=125–126}} [[Martin Buber]] and [[Hugo Bergmann]], who viewed Steiner's social ideas as a solution to the [[Arab–Israeli conflict|Arab–Jewish conflict]], were also influenced by anthroposophy.<ref name="Paddock Spiegler 2003 p. " />

There are numerous anthroposophical organisations in [[Israel]], including the anthroposophical [[kibbutz]] [[Harduf]], founded by Jesaiah Ben-Aharon, forty Waldorf kindergartens and seventeen [[Waldorf schools]] (as of 2018).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statistics for Waldorf schools worldwide |url=http://www.freunde-waldorf.de/fileadmin/user_upload/images/Waldorf_World_List/Waldorf_World_List.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212024849/https://www.freunde-waldorf.de/fileadmin/user_upload/images/Waldorf_World_List/Waldorf_World_List.pdf |archive-date=2019-12-12 |access-date=2018-06-13}}</ref> A number of these organizations are striving to foster positive relationships between the Arab and Jewish populations: The Harduf Waldorf school includes both Jewish and Arab faculty and students, and has extensive contact with the surrounding Arab communities, while the first joint Arab-Jewish kindergarten was a Waldorf program in Hilf near [[Haifa]].

===Christian Community===
{{Main|Christian Community}}
Towards the end of Steiner's life, a group of theology students (primarily Lutheran, with some Roman Catholic members) approached Steiner for help in reviving Christianity, in particular "to bridge the widening gulf between modern science and the world of spirit".<ref name="Essential" /> They approached a notable [[Lutheran]] pastor, [[Friedrich Rittelmeyer]], who was already working with Steiner's ideas, to join their efforts. Out of their co-operative endeavor, the ''Movement for Religious Renewal'', now generally known as [[The Christian Community]], was born. Steiner emphasized that he considered this movement, and his role in creating it, to be independent of his anthroposophical work,<ref name="Essential" /> as he wished anthroposophy to be independent of any particular [[religion]] or religious denomination.<ref name="Willmann" />