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[German Version] I. Law – II. Ethics – III. Practical Theology I. Law The right to conscientious objection in Germany, which long existed only as a special privilege granted to the members of the historic peace churches (e.g. the Mennonites in Prussia; see II below), today enjoys special constitutional protection through art. 4 III of German Basic Law (“No one may be forced into armed military service against his conscience”) as the most common example of freedom of cons…

[German Version] I. History and Law – II. Theological Assessment I. History and Law 1. In Germany – and with some variation also in Switzerland and Scandinavia – church taxes originated with the secularization (II, 1) of the property of the church by the Principal Resolution of the Imperial Deputation in 1803. In compensation, the German princes acquiring this property undertook to meet the financial needs of the church. In the course of the 19th century, the German…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Peace (negatively: absence of fighting and war; positively: security, wellbeing, and harmony) is considered desirable in all traditional religions, although they also have their specific legitimations of war. In archaic religions, peace is primarily related to the community and understood as a present reality. However, from the beginning of the Christian era, religious developments produced stronger differentiations. Peace is no longer seen as a social phenomenon…