BER_F_02 The Role of Religion in Historical and Current Analyses of Social Cohesion
Objective/ Research Questions
As the circumcision debate of 2012 has shown, secular patterns of argumentation may serve to camouflage deep-seated religious resentments. In the Pegidamovement, on the other hand, a related phenomenon of camouflage can be observed, but now with reference to religious patterns of argumentation and, so to speak, “from below”. In what was the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) – one of the most secular regions of Europe – a protest movement is taking recourse to the deeply Christian topos of the “Occident”, now newly formed as “Christian-Jewish”, in order to ostensibly historically justify the exclusion of the third great monotheistic religion of Europe, Islam. All these areas of conflict prove once again that an at least nominal rejection of anti-Semitism has become a basic condition for belonging to German society, though at the price of a not inconsiderable potential for instrumentalizing the now new anti-Muslim exclusion.
The research project aims to take stock of current debates on social cohesion and its supposed threat, focusing on religious aspects and issues (the circumcision and headscarf debates, Islam Conference, Pegida movement, genesis of the topos “Christian-Jewish Occident”, etc.). In particular, the aim is to historicize these debates or to compare them with similar debates on the relationship between state and religion in the nineteenth century, which were conducted with a focus primarily on Judaism. The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the specific dynamics and problem constellations of debates on secularism, religion, and migration.
Thematic reference to social cohesion
In a historical perspective, the ambivalent character of religion, as well as its potential, becomes particularly clear: on the one hand, religious belief systems have always been probably the strongest foundation of social cohesion; on the other hand, religious arguments have been and continue to be used to powerfully justify social division and exclusion. Since the nineteenth century, this inherent tension in Germany has been overshadowed by the at least theoretically postulated idea of a secular, rational state – which, however, has never existed in its purest form, either in normative terms (see constitutional law on state-church relations) or in social practice. Here Jewish history provides impressive examples: not only was the allegedly scientific, racist, “modern” anti-Semitism based on Christian anti-Judaism, but its social penetration and emotional power can also only be explained by older, subcutaneous religious images, especially in rural areas. At the same time, religious milieus – especially in rural areas – proved to be particularly resistant to National Socialist ideology. The inconsistent secular patterns of argumentation that can currently be observed in dealing with the two non-Christian religions of Judaism and Islam once again shed light on the role of religion in state and society, which has by no means been clarified. When is religion a resource for segregation and exclusion, and when is it a resource for social cohesion across religious boundaries? In short, how much religion does the country need?
The project makes an empirical-analytical and comparative-contextualized contribution. It investigates the significance of religion and religious debates as factors for the emergence of and threats to social cohesion. The project focuses on the discursive framework of political culture as well as the affective dimension of cohesion.
