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Religious traditions are a powerful factor also in today's society.  They have been shaped in history and will continue to influence individuals and societies.  As an example, the political upheaval in central and east Europe in 1989 has shown the large extent to which religious convictions contribute to a con­scious­ness of freedom, to democratic thought and an active quest for peace.

In the new research project on "Theology  and Civil Society," FIIT seeks to explore critically the importance of theology in the development of civil societies and dis­cus­sions within civil society.  The project involves scholars from Christian theology, Jewish studies and Islamic studies.

Body - Mind - Culture

A Cooperation of IFBK, FIIT and the Centre for Subjectivity Research

Coperating with IFBK (Interdisciplinary Forum for Biomedicine and Cultural Studies) and the Centre for Subjectivity Research, FIIT is establishing the research association "New Interdisciplinary Anthropology: Body - Mind - Culture." In 2012, the research association is hosting a summer school on the issue as part of the Marsilius Kolleg.

On the one hand the research association is to explore the interrelationship of progress in life sciences and image of the human person and worldviews passed on in culture. On the other hand it is dealing with the interactions of biological, anthropological and cultural evolution. Participants hope to overcome a disadvantageous binary opposition of na­tu­ra­list and culturalist positions and to arrive at a practice of political consulting that rests on a multidisciplinary foundation and reflects a refined interdisciplinary approach.

The research association "New In­ter­dis­ci­pli­na­ry Anthropology: Body - Mind - Culture" is structured in three departments:

(A) Progress in Life Sciences and the Images of the Human Person and Worldviews Passed on in Culture

(B) Interactions of Biological, An­thro­po­lo­gi­cal and Cultural Evolution

(C) Life Sciences and Ethics

It is an explicit goal of the research as­so­ci­a­ti­on to incorporate young upcoming scholars  in the international cooperation.  An im­por­tant step in this direction is the international summer school "New In­ter­dis­ci­pli­na­ry An­thro­po­lo­gy: Body - Mind - Culture," which will be organized by the research association in July 2012 in the International Forum of the Sciences Heidelberg as one of its first projects.

The research project "Images of the Divine and Cultural Orientations" attempts to illuminate correlations among perceptions of God, concepts of God and doctrines about God on the one hand and basic cultural and ethical orientations on the other. This will be carried out in a cooperation of scholars in the fields of Christian theology, Jewish studies and Islamic studies. Furthermore, the thought and research processes that in Europe are more aligned with intellectual history and in North America more with cultural and sociological studies need to be brought into dialogue.

With a joint seminar held in summer 2011, FIIT (RCIIT) initiated a closer cooperation between legal studies and theology. Scholars of the two fields met to discuss G. W. F. Hegel's Philosophy of Right and the perspectives it offers on contemporary society. Among the participants were Dr Armin von Bogdandy, Dr Ute Mager  (Legal Studies), Dr Klaus Tanner, and Dr Michael Welker (Sys­te­ma­tic The­o­lo­gy).  With postdocs and doc­to­ral stu­dents, a younger generation of re­sear­chers was also involved. The co­o­pe­r­a­ti­on was continued in the winter term with meetings focusing on N. Luhmann's Law as a Social System (Das Recht der Gesellschaft). The interplay be­tween law, political philosophy, and the­o­lo­gy was also explored in an ad­van­ced seminar on J. Rawls' posthumous A Brief Inquiry into the Meaning of Sin and Faith: With "On My Religion" (2010), held at FIIT by Dr. William Schweiker, Chicago, and Dr. Michael Welker, Heidelberg (December 2011). The following term, legal scholars and theologians compared conceptual approaches to doctrines in the two fields. The cooperation is continuing with a seminar in summer 2013.

"The crisis of the mainline churches is by all means a theological crisis!"

 This idea was at the beginning of the "Pastor-Theologian-Project" in Princeton, NJ. The project was started in the 90s and turned out to be a great success.

This inspired the theologians at the Research Center for International and Interdisciplinary Theology, Heidelberg (FIIT) to develop the project "The Knowledge of Faith" ("GlaubensWissen," previously "Orientierungswissen: Glauben").

For two years, pastors have discussed one important theological issue in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of scientists and academics. In this framework regional groups have met repeatedly for two days of intense discussions since 2002.

To begin with, representatives from the different theological fields present texts and teaching aids. Participating pastors then proceed to form groups to engage in theological debate. After about a year of such work they present their ideas to the general public in order to initiate a wider discourse. In past years, this has led to theological festivals, worship services on the radio or public debates.

The project hopes to support an articulate faith and to fight the decline of general religious education by initiating public processes of information and education. Moreover, the individual projects are intended to reinforce each other mutually, so that a new level can be reached in the interrelationship between academic re­flec­tion and practical work in the parish.

The Montanist Cities of Pepouza and Tymion

Dr. Peter Lampe

In a settlement archeological survey in Phrygia (Turkey) led by Prof. Peter Lampe (University of Heidelberg), the locations of the long-lost centers of Christian Montanism, Pepouza and Tymion, have been rediscovered. With a refined array of scientific methods the project explores an entire cultural landscape, covering a period of several thousand years.

Dr. Gerd Theißen 

When looking at anthropology and ethics, New Testament scholarship has often underemphasized one concept over against the other.  However, developing a more comprehensive approach is the underlying motive of an international project of FIIT.  A fresh look at the sources and their cultural backgrounds reveals that an amalgamum of Jewish and Hellenistic influences in New Testament ethics corresponds to two major strands in anthropology.  The New Testament synthesis of these aspects even offers a new perspective on problems in modern ethical theory.