Do not lose sight of non-denominational people

In a letter to the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) on Monday, the Humanist Association of Germany (HVD) called for the interests of non-religious and non-denominational people not to be overlooked at the 2012 Olympic Games. The background to the letter is the development by the London Organizing Committee of the 2012 Olympic Games, known as LOGOC for short, of a support concept in the vicinity of the Games, within the framework of which a multi-religious faith center, including a “Cathedral of Religions”, is to be created in the Olympic Village. Representatives of nine religions are currently involved in the implementation. However, the integration of additional support services for the non-religious and non-denominational participants does not appear to have been planned in this respect to date. The executive committee of the HVD initially welcomed the efforts to “offer spiritual support for the athletes and participants in the context of the event.” The so-called “Faith” initiative was judged to be “a sensible and good measure” in view of the worldwide conflicts between groups of different religions and cultures. Association President Frieder Otto Wolf also asked the DOSB not to lose sight of the interests of non-religious and non-denominational people and to “point out the inclusion of representatives of humanist organizations to the Olympic Committee and the LOGOC colleagues in England and to advocate for them.” The British Humanist Association in England and, at international level, the European Humanist Federation and the International Humanist and Ethical Union are available to LOGOC as contacts.