Public space must be a just place for all, Lutheran theologians agree
LWF research group sets out the framework for a two-year project
Stuttgart, Germany / Geneva, 06.02.2015.
The group guiding the LWF toward an understanding of why and how it and its member churches are engaged in the public space has emphasized the shared goals that have emerged for the research process. A team of seven theologians representing all LWF regions, together with representatives of the LWF Department for Theology and Public Witness (DTPW), held their first meeting from 29 to 31 January at the Bad Boll Protestant Academy in Germany. They put forward the premise that public space must be a place that offers all citizens equal, just participation. This is part of the calling of Christian baptism: to constructively invest resources in helping to create a space that allows people to discuss and engage in transformative actions that build justice and bring peace to society. The theologians noted, however, that there are forces such as manipulation, fragmentation or domination that distort public space. Christians and churches must resist such practices by offering an alternative.
To further understand the role of churches and Christians in the public space, the research group discussed the dialectical distinctions of Lutheranism, such as spiritual and worldly reality, the simultaneous status of saint and sinner, and the relationship between faith and reason. They also looked at the Lutheran understanding of freedom and responsibility.
“How might we be more prophetic Lutheran/Christian witnesses amid the cacophony of religious voices in our public square? What might we as Lutherans bring to partnerships with others in order to build a healthy society where all of God’s children and creation can fully flourish?” said group member Dr. Kathryn M. Lohre, executive for ecumenical and inter-religious relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
For research group member Rev. Dr. Eva Harasta, secretary for theological research and inter-religious relations of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria, religious pluralism is an important factor that determines the scale of active engagement in the public space. “The fundamental thing is to gain clarity about the multi-religious situation, and inter-contextuality is important in order to develop a hermeneutic for Lutheran engagement in the public sphere,” she said.
“Various members of the research group joined this process with differing perspectives, but all share a common concern – we need to define much more clearly our active participation in the public space as a just place for all,” observed Rev. Dr. Simone Sinn, secretary for public theology and inter-religious relations research at the LWF. Sinn noted that the differing socio-political contexts of the various LWF regions are critically important if the research process is to resonate with today’s reality.
“The marginalized and silenced call into question the very necessity of public space, thereby compelling us to arrive at a deeper and even more relevant understanding of it. The research group has only just begun a process of reflection and action that is important for the whole Lutheran community as a whole,” she emphasized.
The research group is led by Archbishop Dr. Antje Jackelén of the Church of Sweden. The outcome of its first meeting will be made known at the respective conferences of LWF regional church leaders. Its second meeting will take place in the context of the 2015 LWF theological conference on the Reformation in Windhoek, Namibia, in order to become acquainted with the views of other participants. The first draft of the report will be presented to the LWF Council in 2016.
[Participants in the Bad Boll meeting from Brazil, India and Poland shared their insights, grounded in their respective contexts, and expressed what they hope for from this research process. More about this can be read on the LWF blog (in English).]
Report prepared from information provided by the LWF http://www.lutheranworld.org
Photo: Dr Thilo Fitzner
Dr Thilo Fitzner Dr Thilo Fitzner LCCN/Felix Samari
Translated from English by LELBāL pastor Ieva Puriņa
Proofreader Mag. Theol. Milda Klampe