Education instead of bans

The Humanist Association of Germany takes a critical view of calls to ban religious fundamentalist groups. Frieder Otto Wolf, President of the Federal Association, therefore argued on Tuesday that the increasing conflicts between Salafist groups and right-wing political associations should be used as an opportunity to strengthen education and humanism. “The underlying problems of these conflicts will not be solved by banning religious or ideological beliefs.” Following attacks by violent believers against the provocations of right-wing populist groups, voices were raised calling for a ban on religious fundamentalist Salafists. Not only politicians from the CDU and CSU, but also the Protestant Bishop Markus Dröge spoke out in favor of a ban. Frieder Otto Wolf therefore reiterated that bans are not a sustainable approach to dealing with this type of problem. “Faith cannot be banned,” said Wolf. The fact that the breeding ground for such religiously tinged conflicts has grown in Germany in recent decades is also due to the fact that the rational handling of religious ideas has not been supported to the necessary extent. There has also been no attentive response to social factors that promote such escalations, and instead a practice of blanket exclusion has been pursued. “An enlightened and humane religious practice certainly cannot be provoked to violence by provocative images,” emphasized Wolf. “At the same time, however, it should finally be recognized that the invocation of a Christian Leitkultur, which is still widespread in Germany, encourages many owners of other beliefs to exaggerate their own positions. Social divisions, discrimination and disenfranchisement have also contributed to the rise of fundamentalist movements.” Observers could consistently build on this insight in the future in order to prevent the growth of anti-democratic and violent groups. Precisely because different convictions and approaches to creating meaning are part of the essence of an open society, a stronger development of the practice of enlightenment and humanism is overdue in order to develop peaceful competition and the constructive coexistence of all communities. “There are suitable contacts for such a concern in every denomination. But they must also be actively approached: The joint dismantling of social and cultural milieus in which unenlightened attitudes flourish is a challenge that our entire society must face.”