Benedict XVI spoke on ARD’s “Das Wort zum Sonntag” on Saturday. He was thus the second Pope after John Paul II, who attracted national attention as the speaker of this program on April 25, 1987. Since that year, the social diversity of world views in Germany has changed considerably. In the opinion of the Humanist Association of Germany (HVD), the concept of public service media must adapt accordingly. After all, these are financed by contributors from highly diverse denominational groups and non-denominational people. “Today’s event should be very much worth questioning the view that these broadcasts on platforms such as ARD and comparable media can still be justified today, just as they were when the television series was launched over 55 years ago,” said Frieder Otto Wolf, President of the HVD. At that time, more than 95 percent of people in Germany were registered as belonging to one of the Christian churches. To date, this figure has fallen by over 35 percent. Looking at Benedict XVI’s speech at the Word on Sunday, the HVD noted that there is still an urgent need for reform in this area. The previously comprehensible institution must be described as an outdated privilege, “which can no longer really be legitimized with the cultural and ideological diversity of the country, but only in terms of power politics.” “We see no reason to take a blanket stance against an event of this kind that is institutionalized in public broadcasting,” Wolf continued. The fact that representatives of ideological communities have the opportunity to speak regularly on public radio can also be well justified from a secular perspective, in contrast to Benedict XVI’s appearance before the German Bundestag, which was rejected by the association. While parliament, as a “neuralgic point of the secular state”, must not serve as a platform for advertising messages from religious leaders, public service broadcasting, as a medium financed by the general public, can also provide a platform for a pope and other representatives of the churches to express their opinions. However, the one-sided conception of today’s broadcasting format must be seen as an expression of an outdated and discriminatory dominance. Wolf went on to say that the event should serve as a reminder of this. There is every reason to assume that people not only have a legitimate interest in lectures by representatives of the Christian churches, but that non-religious citizens and citizens of other faiths would also appreciate a platform that corresponds to their beliefs, where they can have their say on a regular basis through thinkers they respect and regard. Wolf: “Public broadcasting should finally open up to the needs and actual interests in our society. In any case, I cannot see any plausible reasons why these prominently placed offerings with their proposals for creating meaning should be restricted to the group of people who follow a Christian faith.” Additional information: The Humanist Association of Germany is a member of the Coordination Council of Secular Organizations (KORSO).
KORSO advocates on behalf of around 28 million non-denominational or non-religious people in Germany for their own and appropriate representation in ethics councils, broadcasting councils and federal review bodies as well as equal treatment in the public service media.
