Anthroposophy
3. WHAT IS THE SOCIETY?
The Goetheanum seen from the side
[Wladyslaw; color altered]
Q. Is Anthroposophy an organized movement? Does it have a central office?
A. The belief system behind Waldorf schools, Anthroposophy, is an organized religion — or, if you prefer Steiner's terms, it is an organized "spiritual science." The headquarters is located in Dornach, Switzerland, in a building called the Goetheanum. (Steiner admired Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; he named the Goetheanum after him.)
The General Anthroposophical Society — the central body of the movement — is housed in the Goetheanum. There are no direct, formal ties between Waldorf schools and the Society, but there are strong informal ties. “[W]e have to remember that an institution like the Independent Waldorf School with its anthroposophical character, has goals that, of course, coincide with anthroposophical desires. At the moment, though, if that connection were made official, people would break the Waldorf School’s neck." — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 705.
There are branches of the Anthroposophical Society in many countries.
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For more information, see
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Pronunciation: Rudolf Steiner's followers use various strange, hard-to-pronounce words. Here are a few found on this page. "Anthroposophy" is pronounced an-throw-POS-o-fee. "Anthroposophical" is pronounced an-throw-po-SOPH-e-cal. "Goetheanum" is go-thee-AN-um.