Religious Indifferentism as a Challenge and Opportunity. On the Denominational Situation in the New Federal States of Germany.

Abstract

In 2004 the Pontifical Council for Culture issued a document titled Where is your God? Responding to the Challenge of Unbelief and Religious Indifference Today. The document draws attention to the spiritual drama of our times which consists in whole groups of people quietly abandoning religious practices and losing touch with faith. Such a situation results in a more frequent confrontation of the Church today with religious indifference and practical unbelief rather than atheism which seems to be on the defensive. Therefore, it is the task of the Church to recognize the causes and effects of this phenomenon and to seek appropriate ways of responding. The problem is now especially acute in the new federal states of   Germany.

Whereas atheism, which is propagated by means of various organized actions and publications is relatively easy to identify and can be addressed with a whole range of arguments, the phenomenon of religious indifference poses a far more serious and complex problem to theology and one that has not been much analyzed so far. The present article describes the problem of religious indifference from the perspective of the new federal states of Germany. The author characterizes the phenomenon of religious indifference in East Germany in three points and shows in what sense it can be an opportunity and challenge to the missionary activity of the Church. He also highlights the possible strategies of addressing the problem both by Catholic theology and by proclaiming the faith.