A Review of The Relationship between Expressionism and Protestantism

One of the areas of interdisciplinary research on culture is the study of the relationship between religion and art. Among the religious movements, "Protestantism" has assumed especial importance due to its relation with the" religious reform movement". In this cultural context, "expressionism" represents one of the most important stages of the evolution of forms of art. Using a library-based method, this paper seeks to investigate the common aspects and relations between these two movements. The theoretical foundations were compared in the form of a case study with the movie “Dr. Calgary’s Work Room" (1920). The research results show that expressionism and Protestantism have common aspects in one general aspect and in three particular aspects. Thus, it is possible to give religious interpretations works of art. The interaction among religion, culture and art on the basis of an existential understanding of religion is the common aspect in this relationship. Moreover, the historical-cultural commonalities, an expressive element and a dark tension-making content in Expressionism the similar of which is found in Protestant theology, indicate the remarkable aspects of this relationship.