Morality without Confession? - On the Debate about the Churches as Civil Religious Moral Agencies.
Proceedings of the XVII. Consultation Church Leadership and Academic Theology]
In social discourse and medial perception church and theology are predominantly present when it comes to the moral foundations of communal life. Regarding these topics they make public statements, publish social papers or memoranda. Recent examples are the debates on the migration crisis, euthanasia, sexual ethics, climate change, and financial capitalism. In view of this trend the churches should give less prominence to behavioural norms and advocate more the individual capacity to form a personal judgement on ethical issues. It is a self-misunderstanding when churches understand themselves as moral agencies.
The contributions in this volume want to answer questions like: What is the relationship between the truth claim of the Gospel and the endeavour to convey social values? Is there the temptation for the churches to compensate the loss of relevance of faith in the public space through activities in the field of ethics? Do they run the risk of secularising themselves and levelling the Christian message?