About: History of the IfES
Founded in 1955 simultaneously to the professorial appointment of Prof. Dr. Heinz-Dietrich Wendland at the University of Münster and dubbed „Institute for Christian Social Sciences“ (ICG).
He lead pilot projects on a national level and aided in erecting subsequent building to function as chairs for socio-ethical matters. Also motivated in spirit by the failure of the manifold protestantism opposed to the national-socialist dictatorship, the ICG aimed at conquering the new societal/political challenges of the post-war era. Social sciences were an active research interest at the former university of the rhine area. Second and seated in Dortmund, the social science research unit belongs to the research triumvirate, as does the ICG at the faculty of catholic theology; the name was emulated later by the faculty of protestant theology.
From 1955–1967 and lead by Wendland, whose works added to the consolidation and created international ripples for the newborn subject, the ICG reached a new height with up to four researchers at a time. They specialized in research and the teachings of various socio-ethical aspects: politics and law, economics and the professional world, family and gender relations, and religious and church sociology.
Prof. Dr. Wolf-Dieter Marsch (1969–1972) emerged with studies about church and religious theory and initiated the religious and sociological project „Religion as a job“.
Prof. Dr. Karl-Wilhelm Dahm lead the institute from 1975–1996, worked in the areas of economical ethic and company ethic, the mediation of ethics and empirical church research.
Setting research interests in political ethic, social ewthic, church theory, religious sociology and research into Bonhoeffer was Prof. Dr. Hans-Richard Reuter from 1999–2013. One of the main applicants for the Cluster of Excellence „Religion and Politics“.
Reuter also changed the name from ICG into „Institute of Ethics and Associated Social Sciences“ (IfES), inspired by his interest in ameliorated transparency of processed teachings and research areas.
The new incumbent of the directorial seat as of 1st October 2014 is Prof. Dr. Arnulf von Scheliha.