Interreligious Blog

Lutherans and Mennonites - Reconciliation and healing of memories

2009-10-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

Not many may remember all that actually happened almost 500 years ago during and after the reformation. We Lutherans mainly remember Martin Luther's struggle to reform the Catholic Church and how he was finally kicked out of Catholic Church and had to establish a protestant church. We Lutherans tend not to remember how the Lutheran princes persecuted the Anabaptists, and did so with theological support from leaders of the protestant reformation. The Anabaptists, or Mennonites, as they themselves prefer to be called, however, have never forgotten how they were treated by their Lutheran brethren in the Christian faith.

What has just happened at the Council meeting of the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva today is therefore very significant. The council unanimously approved the report, ”Healing of Memories; Reconciliation in Christ”, from the Lutheran-Mennonite International Study Commission, 2005-2009 and the below statement and recommended it for adoptaion at the LWF Assembly in Stuttgart, Germany in 2010.

”When Lutherans today realize the history of Lutheran –anabaptist relationships in the 16th century and beyond as it is presented in the report of the Lutheran – Mennonite International Study Commission, the are filled with a deep sense regret and pain over the persecution of Anabaptists by Lutheran authorities and especially over the fact that Lutheran reformers theologically supported this persecution. Thus, LWF, A Communion of Churches wishes to express publicly its deep regret and sorrow.

Trusting in God who in Jesus Christ was reconciling the world to hiself, we ask for forgiveness – from God and fromour Mennonite sisters an brothers – for the harm that our forbears in the 16th century committed to Anabaptists, for forgetting or ignoring this persecution in the intervening centuries, and for all inappropriate, misleading and hurtful portraits of Anabaptists and Mennonites made by Lutheran authors, in both popular and scholarly forms, to the present day.

We pray that God may grant to our communities a healing of our memories and reconciliation.”

As the president of LWF, bishop Mark Hansson, ELCA, said at this very emotionale moment: "We talk a lot about repentence, but more important than words about repentence is repentence. And this is what we are involved in today."

Geneva, Monday October 26, 2009

Mogens S. Mogensen

Religion and Politics According to Moltmann

2009-06-02T02:07:00.000-07:00

The encounter with Islam has once again raised the issue of religion and politics. Since Islam is seen by some as a politicised religion or a religious politics, some politicians, media people and also some church people have tried to explain Christianity in a way so that it separates religion from politics.

Today I happened to read an interview with and articles by the German Lutheran theologian Jürgen Moltmann which put this debate about religion and politics into a relevant context. When explaining his "theology of hope", Moltmann points out that "eschatology is the expectation of God's coming in this wolrd to establsih his reign and perfect all the longings and desires of humanity". The coming kingdom therefore gives the church a much broader focus for its mission than a only a private "only" the salvation of individual souls. For Moltmann this means that an eschatological theolology (a theology of hope) will also be a political theology.

Referring to Ernst Blochs's "Principle of Hope" he noted that the eschatoogical conscience and messianic hopes came into the world through the Bible. But, and I quote:

"In the past two centuries, a Christina fiath in God without hope for the future of the world has called forth a secular hope for the furture of the world without faith in God. Since the Christians, the churches, and theology believed in God without future, the will for a furture of the earth has joined itself to an atheism which sought a future without God. The messianic hopes emigrated from the church and became invested in progress, evolution, and revolutions."

If Christianity does not hold forth its hope for the future - based on its escahtological theology, founded in the vision of the coming Kingdom of God - and also has the courage to relate it to the political reality, the consequences may be serious.

"'Political theology", Moltmann argues, "was our answer to the fuailure of the churches and Christendom in Auschwitz. Why did the church fail? There were many heroes in the church. Why were the churches silent? Many reasons could be named. Probably the most important reasin is religon was said to be a private matter that has nothing to do with politics."

A church that choses to be silent regarding politics based on a theology that keeps religion apart from politics, I think, does not take its calling seriously.

Christiansfeld, Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Mogens S. Mogensen

If you want to read more about similar and other topics, visit my website www.intercultural.dk/english

Holocausts and genocides

2009-05-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

Reading ”The Lost History of Christianity” (2008) by Philip Jenkins is really an enlightening and challenging experience which I can recommend to others interested in the history of the Christianity in its interactions with other religions.

Jenkins reminds us that around 1900 Christians made up about 11 % of the population of the Middle East, and points out – if we should have forgotten it – that since then ”Christians have ceased to exist altogether – are ceasing to exist – as organized communities.” And he goes on to conclude that whether the causes of that change are religious or polititical ”the result was to create a Muslim world that was just as Christian-free as large sections of Europe would be Jew-free after the Second World War. And in both instances, the major mechanism of change was the same. For alle the reasons we can suggest for long-term decline, for all the temptations to assimilate, the largest single factor for Christian decline was organize violence, whether in the form of massacre, expulsion, or forced migration” (p. 141).

All religious communities, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu etc., have in their history events and periods which contradict the noblest ideals of these religions. It is not healthy, however, for any religious community to pretend that this was not part of their history. In Europe we have to face the reality of persecutions of Jews and the holocaust. In the same way as people in the Middle East have to face the reality of the persecution of Christians and cases of genocide, and people in Turkye will have to face the history of the Armenian genocide. Some of these tragic events took place long ago, others is part of our modern history. If we refuse to face the harsh reality and learn from our history, we may be more likely to bring ourselves – and others – in a positition where we – and others – repeat the holocausts and genocides of history.

Christiansfeld, Saturday, May 23, 2009
Mogens S. Mogensen

The Rise and Fall and Rise of Global Christianity

2009-05-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

Next year we will celebrate the 100 anniversary of the Edinburgh World Mission Conference in 1910. At the beginning of the 20th century about more than 80 % of the Christians in the world lived in the West, i.e., in Europa and North America. And if we go a few centuries further back in time more than 90 % of alle Christians were either Europeans or North Americans. And today only about a third of all Christians live in the West.

The modern missionary movement, whose climax was the 1910 conference in Edinburgh, did not result in the conversion of all the world to Christianity – the perecentage of Christians is about the same today as it was in when mission leaders gathered in Edinburgh a hundred years ago under the slogan ”The Christianization of the World in Our Generation – but it led to an impressive globalisation. Christianity can no longer be presented as ”the white man’s religion”.

Reading Philip Jenkins’ excellent book, ”The Lost History of Christianity” (2008), I was once again reminded that the development of Christianity has not in any sens been linear and progressive in terms of extension and size. Globalisation of Christianity is not a new thing in Christian history. For many centuries in the middle ages Christianity just as globalised as it is now. Jenkins rightly observes that

”For most of its history, Christianity was a tricontinental religion, with powerful representation in Europe, Africa and Asia, and this was true into the fourtheenth century. Christianity became predominantly European not because this continent had any obvious affinity for that faith, but by defaltu. Europe was the continent where it was not destroeyed. Matters could easily have developed very differently” (p. 3).

We should keep this in mind as we celebrate the100 anniversary of Edinburgh 1910. And we should ponder this historical fact as we today celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who on this day before ascending – so that He could and can be globally present with his church - gave his disciples then (and also his disciples today) the great commission that whereever we are or go to share the good news and call people to become His disciples.

Christiansfeld, Ascension Day, May 21, 2009
Mogens S. Mogensen

To read more about similar and other topics, visit my website: www.intercultural.dk/english

Christmas and New Year Greeting 2008

2008-12-29T12:36:00.000-08:00

When I this autumn visited Assisi, it struck me that the themes in the public debate in Denmark in 2008, also were burning issues at the time of Francis of Assisi in th 13th century. We are discussing the climate crisis and ecology, while Frans was very concerned about our harmonious interaction with the creation of God. We still discuss how we as church and society should relate to Muslims, while Frans distanced himself from the prevailing crusading mentality of his time and dared to go to dialogue with the Muslim leader in Egypt. This year we are experiencing the beginning of a deep economic recession that exposes our material greed, while Frans also had to struggle with the materialism of his time and felt that he had to live in poverty to attain to freedom.

These three themes have also affected my work in Intercultural.dk during 2008.

• In May I was involved in a study and dialogue tour for Christians and Muslims to Istanbul, and in October we organised the third national conference for Christian and Muslim leaders; this year the theme was ”Religion in Freedom – Freedom in Religion”. Earlier this year I published the book ”From Cartoon Crisis to Headscarf Row. Two Conflicts Changing Multireligious Denmark”.

• At the council meeting of The Lutheran World Federation in Arusha, Tanzania,close to the highest mountain in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro, whose snow is now melting, the focus was on the climate crisis. In the Danish Mission Council we decided that the next issue of our book series, “New Mission”, which we are working on right now, should be ”Church, Mission and Climate Crisis”. Now we are preparing ourselves for the very crucial climate summit in Denmark in 2010.

• In January and February my wife and I went on a study tour to India, Thailand and Vietnam in order to study the religions and cultures of the East. This was a great inspiration for our the work, in which I am involved, of interviewing representatives of groups inspired by Eastern religiousities and spiritualities and of pastors and others who have spent years trying to be in dialogue with them. I thas become clear to me that a significant meeting point between New Agers and others and the church is Christian spirituality. I wonder if the present economic crisis will open the eyes also of ordinary Danes for the limitations and dangers of materialism and the need for a spiritual life.

About these and other themes you may read more in the English section of my website www.intercultural.dk, which will be reopened in a new version on the 1st of January.

I want to express my gratitude to all business associates, colleagues and co-workers for time spent together, for conversations and sharing and for cooperation during the year, which is now coming to an end. I hope the see and work together with you also in 2009. I wish all of you a happy Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

Yours sincerely

Mogens S. Mogensen

Cartoon Crisis - perspectives

2008-12-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

What was the cartoon crisis all about? At least four interpretations may be offered.

1. Was it a matter of freedom of expression? This was the position taken by Jyllands-Posten and the Danish Government

2. A second possible interpretation is that the cartoon crisis has to do with the recognition or the lack thereof of a religious minority.

3. Domestic politics in Middle Easter, Asian and African Countries. Did oppressive and unpopular governments use the cartoon crisis to divert the attention of the public away from domestic politics towards international religious issues.

4. Or was the cartoon crisis an indication of a clash of civilizations? Was it basically a clash between a democratic West and an undemocratic Muslim world? It was of course tempting to combine the conflicts in the cartoon crisis with the fight against terrorism, which in the minds of most people is a fight against Islamism. Furthermore, for many it does not make sense to distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Some of the statements from among politicians in The Danish People’s Party point clearly in that direction.

Before coming to my own conclusion I want to draw your attention to a follow-up to the cartoon crisis, the socalled headscar row, which I think throws an interesting light on the cartoon crisis.

The Headscarf Row
When, in March 2006, the young Muslim woman, Asmaa Abdol-Hamid, began to appear in a series of television shows, “Adam and Asmaa”, wearing the hijab – an Islamic headscarf – a storm broke out I n the media and among politicians.A storm gaining momentum in April 2007, when she announced her plans to run for Parliament as a candidate for the Danish Red-Green Alliance, a Danish left wing party. If elected, she would become the first Muslim woman in the Danish Parliament. What caused a very heated debate, though, was that this 25-year-old woman was a devout Muslim insisting on wearing a headscarf and who, furthermore, on religious grounds, refused to shake hands with men.

Time does not permit me to go through the headscarf row. Suffice to say that Asmaa was not elected, but before and after the election we had a very heated debate that touched a number of issues surrounding the headscarf
* Ban on headscarves etc.
* Freedom of expression – freedom of religion
* Gender equality
* Value politics – what is danishness
* Islam – Islamism – terrorism
Attempting to analyse the Danish debates on the headscarf, it becomes clear that the headscarf had become an arena for many other battles in the Danish society.

Conclusion
Even though different, the cartoon crisis and the headscarf row were linked and had significant similarities.
* The most obvious link between the two was Asmaa Abdol-Hamid. She had been the spokesperson for the eleven Muslim organisations responding to the Prophet-cartoons by filing a lawsuit against Jyllands-Posten. She had headed the protest against the Danish cartoons, and she became the target of many Danes protesting against her headscarf.

* The cartoons were perceived as a provocation by many Muslims, in Denmark as abroad: Muslims were challenged to accept the cartoons on the basis of the constitutional freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Denmark. Asmaa’s headscarf (and her refusal to shake hands with men) was perceived as a provocation by many non-Muslims in Denmark: on the same basis of freedom of expression and freedom of religion, Danes were challenged to accept new ways of dressing – new ways of behaviour.

And now I come to my conclusion. The cartoon crisis and the headscarf row may – in may opinion - best be understood as seen as side effects of the ongoing globalisation

Globalisation increases and intensifies communication, for better and for worse. The cartoon crisis began as a national controversy, but soon developed into an international crisis. Probably, most, if not all, actors in the cartoon crisis had initially intended their words and actions to be taken note of in the Danish society only. Also, the decisions taken by politicians seem to have been based solely on domestic political premises. Normally, we do not expect what we say in Denmark to be heard and reacted upon in the rest of the world. This was, however, what happened during the cartoon crisis.

More importantly globalisation leads to the development of multicultural and multireligious societies. These Danish controversies may be seen as the birth pangs of the multicultural and multireligious society: the Danish society is struggling to come to terms with the fact that it now contains a much larger diversity than it has ever done before. At the same time the controversies may reflect how Muslims in Denmark are struggling to adapt to a non-Muslim society, and perhaps also struggling to develop a European version of Islam.

The multireligious nature of globalised societies has been perceived as a serious threat to the cohesion of the Danish society. The solution offered by our prime minister is – on the basis of the experiences during the cartoon crisis – to “Keep Religion Indoors” (as was the title of a feature article with him in a Danish Newspaper in May 2006. “To secure a strong coherence in the future, I am of the opinion that it would be good if religion would take up less space in the public sphere.” He would not in any way interfere with people’s freedom of religion; he insisted that “we must distinguish between religion and politics” and that “religion is first of all a private issue. If we are to maintain this strong coherence, which is so crucial for Denmark’s progress and stability, it is necessary that we also in the future encounter each other in the public sphere as human beings and citizens in Denmark – and not as representatives of different religions”.

This leads me to the last element in my analysis of the effects of globalisation. A number of researchers have noted that there is a significant connection between globalisation and the increasing visibility of religion as a political factor in various parts of the world. There is no indication, however, that religion will disappear from the public space. On the contrary all members of the Danish society will have to learn to live with the presence of religion and religions in the public space. The challenge for representatives of all religions, then, will be to show how they as religious communities can contribute to the common good of society – thereby becoming a part of the solutions to societal problems instead of being part of the problems.

Defamation of religion and freedom of expression

2008-09-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

In 2001 a UN Conference against Racism was held in Durban, which generated a lot of heated discussions and conflicts, in particular about colonialism and zionism. Now a follow-up conference – a Durban 2 conference – is being prepared for April 2009. This time it seems as if an even more serious conflict is building up. A number of Muslim countries under the umbrella of the Organization of Islamic Countries have proposed that islamophobia should be recognized as a racism, and that defamation of religion of religions therefore should be seen as a form of racism against which religious people should be protected.

Being a Dane I cannot help thinking that it is now pay back time for the Danish cartoons. In a way I appreciate that the reaction is diplomatic rather than violent, but still this move by Muslim countries has to be opposed as strongly as possible. In most countries we have laws against defamation of people – unwarranted attacks on somebody’s reputation - but now this concept of defamation is transferred to the realm of ideas, ideologies and religions, and therenby infringes on the freedom of expression of individual people.

I do not adhere to the position that we can have an absolute and unlimited freedom of expression. All ”freedoms”, irrespective of how fundamental and important they are, must by necessity be limited by other ”freedoms”. This also became very clear in the heated Danish debate in connection with the cartoon crisis. Freedom of expression is limited by laws protection the reputation of people, confidentiality and security, incitement to violence etc.

Another very basic human right is the freedom of religion. Some would say that defamation of religions infringes on people’s freedom of religion, but I hold the opposite view that any law forbidding defamation of religion is effectively undermining the individual’s freedom of religion. Practicing another religion than that of the dominant majority and advocating the beliefs of such a religion, which might contradict the dominant religion would very easily be understood as a defamation of that dominant religion.

Without the freedom to criticize religions – and to carry out critical research on religions – the freedom of expression becomes more or less empty and meaningless. For some Muslims Islam is not only a religion in a narrow sense of the word but a way of life encompassing all dimensions of human life, including politics. A prohibition against defamation of religions might easily be used as a legitmation to proscribe un-Islamic behaviours and statements. Furthermore, religions with their very strong both cognitive, emotional and social appeals to the loyalty of their adherents, are constantly in need of criticism in order to stay healthy and avoid becoming totalitarian.

Within a legal framework of freedom of expression and freedom of religion, in which defamation of religions is not criminalized, we must of course consider not only what is legal or unlegal to say or to do about other religions and their adherents, but also what is ethical and what is wise to do and to say if we want to live peacefully together and work together to develop our society in a healthy way and deal with the local and global challenges that face all of us irrespective of our religious or non-religious affiliations and views.

Saturday, September 27, 2008
Mogens S. Mogensen

Visit my website www.intercultural.dk - click on "In English"

Jesus enters Mecca

2008-03-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

On Palm Sunday we celebrated Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, not as an general on a stallion, but as the humble servant of the Lord on a donkey. Today, on Good Friday, we remember, how he became the suffering servant of the Lord as he died on the cross for the sins of the world, and on Easter Sunday we shall celebrate his victory over death and his resurrection bringing new life to all the world.

This year on Palm Sunday more than 100.000 Christians in the small Arab Golf-state Qatar celebrate that they for the first time could gather for Sunday service in a church. It is only a Catholic chapel without church bells and visible crosses, but it is a church built on a plot donated by the local emir. The Christians experience a lot of difficult conditions in the Arab world, but now Saudi Arabia is the last country in the Arab world without a single church and where it is still strictly forbidden to build churches. Christianity, however, has a very long history in the Arab world, also in what is today Saudi Arabia. According the Acts of the Apostles Arab speaking people were present in Jerusalem on Pentecost Day when the Holy Spirit was poured out and gave birth to the church. 600 years later at the time of Muhammad there were Christians in Arabia, some of whom Muhammad no doubt met. According to the dominant Wahabi-Islamic tradition no other houses of worship are allowed in Saudi Arabia than mosques.

Nevertheless there are a very many Christians who work as guest workers in Saudi Arabia today, including 800.000 Catholics, in particularly from the Philippines and India. While these Christians are not allowed to gather for worship, and even less to build churches in Saudi Arabia, the largest Mosque in all of Europe was built in Rome already in 1995. Therefore there are good reasons to ask for at least a minimum of reciprocity for Saudi Arabia. No doubt, this is also one of the arguments that the Vatican is using in its present negotiations with the government of Saudi Arabia in order to get permission to build churches in the home country of the Prophet.

I fear that we may have to wait very long until the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations will get permission to build churches for their adherents in Saudi Arabia. But while we wait, we may rejoice that we live in a globalized world in which it becomes more and more difficult to maintain or defend the traditional borders. To the surprise of many I can reveal that a church has already been established in Saudi Arabia, and of all towns in Mecca. Not a physical church built by bricks but a virtual church, ”The Virtual Church of Jesus Christ in Mecca, Saudi Arabia”.

Happy Easter!
Tranum Strand, Denmark, Good Friday, March 21, 2008
Mogens S. Mogensen

Cartoon Crisis version 2.0?

2008-02-15T06:33:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago I was about to finish writing a book about the Cartoon Crisis in 2006. I thought that now this crisis must have passed over into history. I chose to calle the book "From Cartoon Crisis to Headscarf Row" because I considered these two conflicts to be closely connected.

The most obvious link between the two was Asmaa Abdol-Hamid. She was the spokesperson for the eleven Muslim organisations that responded to Prophet-cartoons by filing a lawsuit against Jyllands-Posten. She headed the protest against the Danish cartoons, and she became the target for the protests by many Danes against her headscarf. (She tried to be elected to Parliament, and announced that in case she was elected she would wear the veil in Parliament).

The cartoons were perceived as a provocation by many Muslims in Denmark as well as abroad: Muslims were challenged to accept the cartoons on the basis of the constitutional freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Asmaa’s headscarf (and her refusal to shake hands with males) was perceived as a provocation by many non-Muslims in Denmark: Danes were challenged on the basis the same freedom of expression and the freedom of religion to accept new forms of dress and behaviour.

While writing the book, however, I also feared that the Cartoon Crisis (and the Headscarf Row) was not an isolated historical event but that it was par tof the long and difficult process which Denmark goes through theses years, the transition form being a mono- to becoming a multi-society, also in terms of religion. Therefore, I gave the book the subtitle "Two Conflicts Changing Multi-religious Denmark".

Even though the events are very differenct in character and significance, still there the 9-11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in US in 2001 and the Cartoon Crisis in Denmark in 2006 have this in common that they were epoch-making. 9-11 meant that terror was brought to the heart of the United States and that the last remnants of a feeling of protection from the problems of the rest of the world by the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans evaporated. The Cartoon Crisis in a similar way destroyed the feeling of beeing a cosy and peaceful little corner of the world far away from the big conflicts of the world , when Denmark became the center of a global conflict, which cost many lives in other parts of the world.

My book "From Cartoon Crisis to Headscarf Row" is being published these days, but I had not imagined that it would be available for sale exactly in the midst of a situation where we may be witnessing the beginning of a "Cartoon Crisis version 2.0". My hope is that this new version will be withdrawn as soon as possible. It is more than sufficient with the "Cartoon Crisis version 1.0".

If you want to read more about my book, "From Cartoon Crisis to Headscarf Row", click here.

Christiansfeld, Denmark, Friday, February 15, 2008
Mogens S. Mogensen

www.intercultural.dk

2007 Christmas Greeting

2008-01-09T01:32:00.000-08:00

Dear colleagues and friends!

In my small one-man company, Intercultural.dk, 2007 has been a busy year with many interesting challenges, which I will present below.

In early August, the World Council of Churches together with the Vatican had called for a conference in Toulouse, France, to discuss codes of conduct for interreligious conversions. The participants also included Pentecostal and Evangelical leaders. We were thirty-five participants from Europe, Africa, North and South America and Asia gathered to discuss the theme “Towards an Ethical Approach to Conversion. Christian Witness in a Multireligious World”. It was impressive to experience how Roman Catholics, Orthodox, mainline Protestant, Evangelical and Pentecostal leaders moved towards agreements on the issue of conversion. This was the second conference, and the third will be held next year. Read more.

On the 1st and 2nd September the second national conference for Christian and Muslim leaders was held. This time the dialogue meeting was hosted by the Shi’a Muslim community in their centre in Copenhagen. The forty leaders were gathered to discuss “Citizenship and Neighbourhood”. We experienced that good relations are developing between the Muslim and the Christian groups involved in the dialogue process. The opening of the conference coincided with the Swedish cartoon controversy, but this issue was handled with maturity in a way that it did not negatively influence the meeting.

From the 19th to the 22nd of September the biggest ever international conference on religion was held in Copenhagen. The conference marked the conclusion of the three year research priority area “Religion in the 21st Century” and the theme for the conference was “Transformations – Significance – Challenges”. Among the famous scholars lecturing were Philip Clayton, David Martin, Phil Zuckermann and Grace Davy. A number of books written as part of the research priority area were presented. Together with my co-editor John H. M. Damsager we presented the anthology on “Dansk konversionsforskning” (Danish Research on Conversion). Read more.

For many years I have focused my attention on Islam and Christian-Muslims relations, and this has been both very important and interesting. This year, however, I have been involved in a listening initiative regarding Buddhists, Hindus and people inspired by Eastern religions and spiritualities. The Chairman of the committee for dialogue in the Evangelical Lutheran Church and a dialogue secretary from Areopagos and I have during the autumn visited twelve groups and written a report on our findings. Next year we will go on with a new listening initiative among Christian pastors and other Christians who have been in close contact with these groups over the years.

At lot of my time this year has been spent on communication about intercultural and interreligious issues. I have been giving presentations and lectures about Islam, conversion, and church and mission all over the country. It has been interesting to meet people in churches, organisations and schools to discuss the challenges in church and society. Also this year, I have had the privilege to edit two issues of Ny Mission (New Mission), published by the Danish Mission Council..This year three books I had been working on for some time were also completed, and on top on that a small book based on my blog. Read more.

One of the absolute highlights of 2007 was the so-called Danish Church Days (Danske Kirkedage) that were held in May in Haderslev, close to where we live. The event which took place on the 17th to th 20th of May was hosted by the diocese of Haderslev, and I was deeply involved in the planning of it. The theme was “Church across boundaries” (Kirke over grænser), and among the main speakers were bishop David Zac Niringiye, Kampala, Uganda, and Dr. Mithri Rahab, Bethlehem. The event was a resounding success with about 3000 participants. In 2010 the event will be repeated in Viborg. Read more.

I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Thank your for cooperation and fellowship in 2007. I look forward to meeting with you and working together with you in 2008.

Mogens S. Mogensen
N. J. Holms Park 55, DK-6070 Christiansfeld, Tele 7456 2282. Cellphone: 2617 5712
E-mail: mogensen@intercultural.dk . Website: www.intercultural.dk. (Click on: "In English")

Recognition between religions in a mulitreligious society

2007-07-06T05:43:00.001-07:00

How can different religions live peacefully together? In the Danish Mission Council I have been involved in developing the following principles. I hereby invite Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and atheists to discuss and comment on them.

Theses on the recognition of people of different religions in a multi-religious society

Preface – Christianity’s demand for freedom and liberal thinking

In his famous letter concerning toleration from 1689 John Locke begins his battle for religious freedom and other human rights by asserting that Christianity calls for ‘charity, meekness, and good-will in general towards all mankind’. Open-mindedness to those of a different religious persuasion “is so agreeable to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to the genuine reason of mankind, that it seems monstrous for men to be so blind as not to perceive the necessity and advantage of it in so clear a light.”[1] Christianity has not always been linked to the demand for freedom and open-mindedness to the faith of others, but Locke is right that Christian faith, according to the gospels, can only be embraced in freedom, and that Christians must therefore work for all people to enjoy the same freedom that the Christian faith demands. Jesus set people free. There is no room for coercion when it comes to the faith as we know it from the preaching of Jesus Christ.

To be Christian is to be set free in the belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of mankind. Anchored in faith in Jesus Christ, Christians must show open-mindedness and thus allow other people the same opportunity for freedom of faith that they themselves enjoy: this is the essential starting-point for the following theses.

Theses addressed to the whole of society
1. In word, action and attitude all people at all times shall be recognised as equal and equipped with all individual freedom and citizen rights. Freedom of religion is a basic value and precondition for all other human rights. Everyone has the freedom and the right to think, believe and speak.

2. People’s right to live in accordance with their faith and convictions must be respected, including their freedom to express their distinctive cultural and religious features and values, which find their expression in, for instance, specific food habits, different dress codes and a different day, year or life rhythm. At the same time everyone must contribute to advancing the integration of new citizens into Danish society whatever their cultural and religious background, so that the spirit of community is promoted among all citizens and the development of parallel communities is avoided.

3. Freedom of religion implies that there must be no obstacles to prevent differing religions from exercising their opportunities, for example in relation to training religious leaders or establishing meeting-places and burial grounds. It is important that the state and society treat people of different religions in such a way as to demonstrate that they are recognised as fellow-citizens who are expected to be able to contribute to the joint community.

4. In communicating about religion in society there is no room for speaking with two voices. What is said to some should be able to be heard by others with impunity. Mankind’s belief in God (religious faith) must always be respected, but the varying images of God and theology must always be open to discussion.

Theses addressed to the Church
5. As Christians we must recognise all other people – of whatever religion or faith community – as people created in God’s image and therefore as fellow-beings for whose welfare we have a joint responsibility.

6. As Christians we must – in keeping with “the golden rule” – recognise people of other religions as they are, by working to give them the same freedom and opportunities that we wish for ourselves in our society, and the same freedom, rights and opportunities that we wish for Christians in societies dominated by other religions.

7. Since as Christians we regard the gospel as a message to all people, we wish to be able to talk to other people about their faith and our faith and to communicate the gospel to them. At the same time we must acknowledge that people of other religions with a universal message also have the right to communicate their message to us.

8. As Christians we find assurance in the Christian faith and regard Jesus Christ as the true path to fellowship with God. In the meeting with other religions we must be open to criticism and reflection on our own religion just as much as we must relate critically to other religions.

Theses addressed to people who belong to other religions
9. People of other religions must, as Danish citizens, respect the legal basis of society, including freedom of religion and other human rights and the democratic rules, and they are expected – on the basis of their religious commitment – to make a contribution to the common good of society.

10. Just as people who belong to other religions have the right to share their faith with Christians and to work for conversion to their faith, so must people who belong to other religions also accept the Christians’ right to share their faith with them, and the right of all to change religion without being exposed to persecution or other reprisals.

11. Just as people who belong to other religions have the right to express themselves critically about Christianity, so must people of other religions accept that their religion is exposed to criticism, provided such criticism falls within the framework of the law.

12. Those rights which religious minorities in Denmark enjoy or are fighting to gain they must also help to acquire for other religious minorities, for example Christians, in countries where their religion is in the majority.

Adopted by the Committee of the Danish Mission Council on 18th April 2007

[1] John Locke: A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689)