We asked István Tasnádi from Romania, Juliette Marchet from France and Asbjørn Lauridsen from Denmark: What do you hope to change in your church and for yourself?
Comment and like this video on Youtube on Youtube and watch more videos
Perspectives for a future Protestantism
We asked István Tasnádi from Romania, Juliette Marchet from France and Asbjørn Lauridsen from Denmark: What do you hope to change in your church and for yourself?
Comment and like this video on Youtube on Youtube and watch more videos
We asked István Tasnádi from Romania, Juliette Marchet from France and Asbjørn from Denmark. What impressed you most about the theme of the conference?
Comment and like this video on Youtube on Youtube and watch more videos
We asked István Tasnádi from Romania, Juliette Marchet from France and Asbjørn Lauridsen from Denmark: Why is it important for you to participate in the Forum for Young Theology event?
Comment and like this video on Youtube on Youtube and watch more videos
Forum Young Theology in Europe met in Vienna
With much praise and fresh impetus, 22 young theologians from 12 countries look back on an eventful meeting of the Young Theology in Vienna in May 2022. The topic sounds rather difficult: „Protestantism between nationalism and cosmopolitanism“. Is there nationalism in the Protestant Church? „Yes,“ says Volkmar Ortmann, Privatdozent in church history at the University of Giessen, Germany.
„The Protestants are not everywhere as cosmopolitan as they like to claim.“ That has a lot to do with the local historical developments. Ortmann, who organised this conference of the Protestant Federation of Hesse together with European partners, knows that Protestantism in Europe shows many traditions of its own, up to and including nationalistic currents. „But,“ adds his colleague Mirijam Sauer, „language, nationality and identity naturally belong closely together.“ Thus, Protestant minorities, as in Transylvania, find strength through their cultural imprint with their own identity.
And because identity is far from being nationalism, the conference team developed the term „toxic nationalism“ and distinguished it from „national identity“: „We can’t help it, says Anna Lerch from Switzerland, „where we were born, what language we learned first and what costume we wear at festivals“, but she is of the opinion that we are responsible for ensuring that this healthy „national identity“ does not become toxic.
„The eu as a strong foundation for the churches“ weiterlesenOn 25 May 22, the third programme of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation reported on the Young Theology Forum, which the Protestant Federation of Hesse hosted with its partners CPCE and ZEO: „Not least because of their national church structure, Protestant churches are usually also closely confronted with the respective political leadership of their country, not only with regard to their positioning in the Ukraine war…“ Listen to the whole contribution in this recording in German language
The 22 participants from 12 countries look back on the conference in Vienna with much praise and fresh momentum. The date for a follow-up conference has already been set for 19-22 April 2023 in Sibiu, Transylvania, Romania. with the theme of participation and Protestantism. Further activities are planned until then.
At the Young Theology in Europe Forum conference ending in Vienna on 14 May 2022, participants dictated the idea of a network to continue after the conference. The young people want to deepen the connection between their churches on a practical level. In the end, a book is to be produced. The spokespersons of the 24-member group from twelve European countries are Vittorio Secco from Italy and Frederik Grüneberg from Germany.
Theses about Nationalism, Identities and Christian Churches
I am Marie-Luise Großmann, 26 years old and studied theology. I come from the Lutheran Church in Bavaria and would like to become a pastor in this church. Above all, I find the contacts to other churches, within and outside Germany, enriching, in order to become aware of my own tradition and identity. On the other hand, I also want to continue to strive and struggle together with others for good and perhaps even better solutions and the shaping of our faith in this world. Identity is something dynamic and needs several counterparts – Martin Buber puts it this way: „Man becomes I in the Thou“. I am enjoying the process, the encounters, the development and I am curious to see where it will take me – for now I am very happy to have been in Vienna and to help shape the (church) future with other young theologians.
I am interested in the topic of „nationalism and cosmopolitanism“ because for me there is the underlying question of how we shape this world: All living beings share the earth and its resources, need some of it and ideally give some back into the cycle. So how do we divide it up? What social, cultural structure helps us do that? And what role does/can religion have? I think we definitely need boundaries in this, to have smaller sub-units that make it easier to keep track of things, keep groups together and combine forces. Borders thus have a purpose and a function; they must not become an end in themselves. Rigid nationalism no longer fulfils the constructive function of borders. Nationalism is not enough, I think, to form an identity – there needs to be an unifying element at the same time. That’s where the Christian faith comes into play for me. It enables us to see the world as creation and integrates us as human beings into it. How we, supported by the Christian faith, can have a say in society and world events, how we can stand up for democracy and diversity and how encounters can happen across borders is what interests me in this topic and I’m very excited to have met young people, share ideas and ultimately give shape to and celebrating our reconciled diversity. I hope to continue doing so by being part of the Forum Young Theology.