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[German Version] Recent conceptions of Protestant sexual ethics emphasize the difference between ethics as critical moral theory and sexual morality as its object; again, a distinction must be made between normative conceptions of ethics and descriptive or hermeneutical conceptions, following in the footsteps of F.D.E. Schleiermacher. Changes in the area of sexuality, marriage, and family, often profound, can be adequately addressed theologically only if they are not subjected at the same time to normative ethical assessment; they must first be analyzed by the social and human sciences (Keil; Ringeling). The historical relativity and limitations of traditional Christian sexual morality and teaching regarding marriage must also be taken into account. Otherwise historically contingent realities can be invested with the authority of divine commandments and given exaggerated sacral or ideological significance. Concepts of sexual ethics are therefore open to criticism when they ahistorically declare social structures and institutions to be the order of nature or creation. It is the ethical duty of all individuals to integrate their sexuality responsibly into their personhood responsibly and in the spirit of love. But sexual ethics must not limit itself to the perspective of individual ethics or the approach of situation ethics that overemphasizes self-determined sexuality as an end in itself, albeit needing to be lived responsibly and with respect for the personal dignity of others. In contrast to the traditional teaching regarding the purposes of marriage, which assigns fi…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Bible – III. Judaism – IV. Islam –V. Philosophy of Religion – VI. Dogmatics – VII. Practical Theology I. Religious Studies…

[German Version] The expression “love for the distant neighbor” originated (as Fernstenliebe) with F. Nietzsche, whose Zarathustra propounds a love for those far away and for the future Übermensch (6.1: 78.30–79.2), derived from the Socratic idea of friendship (IV) and in contrast to the Christian ideal of love of one's neighbor, which is said to be merely a symptom of …

[German Version] The term sexism was coined by feminism after the analogy of racism. It denotes “the social construction of inequality within a society based on the assumed superiority of one sex to the other” (Tolbert, 503). The social pressure to act in accordance with conventional gender roles implies a negative moral assessment of deviant sexual behavior, especially homosexuality, and in the context of patriarchy misogyny that can extend to violence. A sexist perspective ascribes gender differen…

[German Version] I. Fundamental Theology Although proclamation is not a specifically religious term, it plays a central role in Christianity. Generally speaking, it is “a form of address in which what is proclaimed takes effect in the moment it is proclaimed” (K.E. Løgstrup, 1358). It goes together with communication and message. While the term message has more to do with the content of the address, proclamation focuses more on the process. The term communication interprets the process as an objective event, whereas the term proclamation includes its effect on the person addre…

[German Version] I. Dogmatics, Fundamental Theology - II. Missiology I. Dogmatics, Fundamental Theology The term “accommodation” (from Latin accommodatio, “accommodation, adaptation”) originated in classical rhetoric (I); it denotes the adaptation of an object to its environment – in rhetoric (II), the adaptation of linguistic expression to its subject matter, purpose, and …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Religions have various assessments and guidelines regarding sexuality, which shape the concrete ways people deal with it and influence certain social attitudes. Religious sexual morality (Sexual ethics) regulates sexual relations through various sexual taboos and by ¶ prohibiting premarital and extramarital sex as well as homosexuality, but also by requiring temporary continence, for instance during menstruation or periods of fasting. It protects procreation (Generativity) in general by commandments…

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[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Ethics I. History of Religion The theme of the enemy is connected with the development or protection of identity and is directed toward people of other tribes or states, those of other faiths, or a hostile region of the world. The enemy can represent what is foreign and threatening or be localized within the worl…

[German Version] (AI), founded in 1961, is a human rights organization that works worldwide esp. for the release of people imprisoned for philosophical, religious, or political reasons. The impetus for the founding was a newspaper article by the English lawyer Peter Benenson in the London Observer on 28 May 1961, which called the public's attention to the fate of “forgotten prisoners.” AI serves exclusively so-called nonviolent political “prisoners of consc…