“Religious politics neglected”

Scholar of religious studies, Willems, on religious political topics election campaigns

In the radio programme “Tag für Tag” (Day by Day) of Deutschlandfunk, scholar of religious studies Prof. Dr. Ulrich Willems talked about the relevance of religious political topics in the Bundestag elections campaigns. The scholar from the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” argued that in recent years, the parties markedly neglected religious political issues. It should be kept in mind that “in the last 20, 25 years, the religious landscape in Germany has changed dramatically”. The broadcast “Die Debatten der Zukunft” (The debates of the future) with Prof. Willems is one part of a five-part series on the topic of religion in election campaigns. The scholar will also comment in part 3 about cultural identity.

From the scholar of religious studies’ point of view, neglecting religious political issues now generates “a number of problems that need to be solved urgently. It can be seen in many other countries that major debates have developed, and we are lagging somewhat behind in the Federal Republic.” In particular, the constitutional law on religion needs to be developed. “The problem with the Federal Republic is that this model was drafted at a time when we were essentially dealing with the two Christian mainline churches and also with Judaism.” This now is “a certain asymmetry in view of the challenges posed by the pluralisation of the religious landscape. We urgently need to remove the obstacles to the integration of greater diversity.”

An abstract of the interview in German language can be accessed here.

In the summer semester 2016, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Willems organised the public lecture series “Religionspolitik heute” (Religious policy today) at the Cluster of Excellence. The series dealt with current issues of Islamic and religious policy. In lectures and panels, scholars from various disciplines and representatives from religions, politics and ideological communities discussed key questions as well as current conflicts and solutions, also comparing them internationally.
The Cluster of Excellence is engaged in disseminating scientific findings to a broader public. It liaises the expertise of the researchers with print and online media as well as with radio and television, as can be gathered from the Cluster of Excellence’s press review, through its intense media relations. (ill/maz)