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[German Version] Moral law (cf. lex moralis; Law and legislation) is the general rule setting out processes in the world in relation to the nature of these processes, i.e. the scope of applicability of each law: the moral law is the rule for human behavior in the world of moral freedom; “natural law” (II; Natural law/Law of nature) on the other hand is the rule for causally determined processes in the world of natural phenomena. Since I. Kant this concept has become established as the basis of normati…

[German Version] I. Social Sciences and Ethics No modern theory of society can manage without the multilayered concept of the “public.” As a sociological category that needs to be determined on the basis of institutional and interaction theories, the term designates “that dimension of all social institutions and life processes in which the joint interests and needs, rights and duties of a society’s members are addressed” (Huber, 45). The concept of the public is thus intimately linked to conceptions o…

[German Version] Since English has no equivalent distinction, it should be made clear that this discussion is concerned with Sittlichkeit, translated loosely here as “morality and immorality,” in distinction from Moralität, morality in the more abstract sense. As the history of its use has shown, though “morality” is an indispensable key concept in any philosophical or theological ethics, it can also bear a variety of different meanings. These can still largely be found in the everyday use of the words. Morality/immorality m…

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[German Version] I. Terminology – II. History – III. Philosophy – IV. Philosophy of Religion, Dogmatics, Ethics – V. Practical Theology and Education – VI. Social History I. Terminology This article deals with formative education, corresponding to the German term Bildung (cf. Fr. formation). (The related article education deals with the subject area of Erziehung, covering education and training. Bildung or formation may be considered more general, with cultural overtones, while Erziehung places more emphasis on schooling.) ¶ Even in its earliest form, OHG bildunga (“creat…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Practical Theology – III. Ethics (Phases of Maturation) – IV. Judaism – V. Hinduism I. Religious Studies In almost all cultures and religions, a person apparently experiences his life not only as a straight line, but more as cyclically sequenced, more-or-less discontinuous phases with varied social status and role claims. The transition between these phases usually takes place as a controlled “growing process,” not only accompa…

[German Version] I. Terminology – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Systematic Theology – V. Practical Theology – VI. Judaism – VII. Islam I. Terminology 1. Religious Studies a. As an emic linguistic term, “faith” is found not only in the context of the Christian West (cf. fides, foi, Glaube, etc.), but also in other religious traditions. The Sanskrit term śraddhā (cf. Pāli saddhā; Avestan zrazdā-) seems to represent an Indo-European etymological pendant to Lat. credo, as demonstrated by the possible reconstruction of Indo-Germanic * …

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[German Version] I. Religious Studies Tolerance a…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies 1. The terms The terms rite and ritual are often used synonymously, both in daily speech and in the specialized language of religious studies, leadin…

[German Version] I. Concept – II. Religious Studies – III. Early Christianity – IV. Early Church to the Reformation – V. Modern Era – VI. Orthodox Churches – VII. Asia, Africa, Latin America – VIII. Systematic Theology – IX. Ethics – X. Practical Theology – XI. Ecumenical Discussion – XII. Law I. Concept 1. Theology The loan-word, church, which in common parlance can mean both the Christian worship service and the building dedicated to its performance as well as the constituted social configuration of Christian faith in the sense of an institution and its representative organs, apparently stems from an adjectival derivative of the Greek substantive …

[German Version] I. Concept – II. Philosophy – III. Greco-Roman Antiquity – IV. Bible – V. Church History – VI. Ethics – VII. Practical Theology and Pedagogy – VIII. Judaism – IX. Islam I. Concept Traditionally, “education” has denoted the intentional interaction of adults with the younger generation in order-usually-to influence them positively; whether it makes sense to speak of education when negative goals are deliberately pursued is disputed. In societies with stable structures, which change very slowly in ways that are not perceptible to the mem…