Aktuelles aus Theologie und Religionsforschung

On 21st of October Heinrich Wilhelm Schäfer was invited by the New York University (Deutsches Haus) to participate in a panel discussion on "Religious Truth Claims and Liberal Democracy: Contribution or Contest?". After opening statements of each discussant, a multi-faceted debate opened among the participants Jose Casanova, Muqtedar Khan, Adrian Pabst, Marcia Pally, and Heinrich Schäfer. During the debate it became increasingly clear that liberal democracy cannot serve as the only framework for religious praxis or our political and economic policies, since itself is in constant danger of leaving the limits of legitimacy behind, as e.g. the war on Iraq has shown. On the other hand, religious praxis and ethical orientation - as it abstains from the pretense of absoluteness - may provide some material orientations for civil participation in democratic societies.