Prof. Dr. Wolfgang W. Müller

Religious communities claim absoluteness which may be the potential cause of various conflicts. Modern society views the democratic state as neutral with regard to denominations and as a domain where religious pluralism is known and practised. Christian communities constitute one among many entities in a pluralistic society today. Interiour theological discussions initially addressed the phenomenon of religious pluralism. Thus the empiric pluralism of coexisting and competing religions was discussed. In a further step the axiom of a program of a „theology of religions“ is demanded. In view of migrational mobility in the context of the phenomenon of globalisation still another question arises, which shall be investigated within the framework of this university centre for competence in research: What happens when different cultures and religions converge in one person? Is the only possible answer to this phenomenon the „clash of civilizations“? How can integration be successful? How do religious communities handle this phenomenon? The question will be debated systematically on the basis of the program of a „hyphenated identity“ (Jacques Dupuis) and investigated paradigmatically by the encounter between the Christian faith and Asian cultures.