Religion, Ethics, and Politics

The tense relationship between religion and politics is one of the most important social issues of our time. Societal and scientific debates on the issue have been triggered by increasing religious pluralisation and changing moral concepts as well as globalisation and migration. How tolerant should societies be of religious groups and their rituals and practices? What values, such as equal rights for women and men, should not be open to discussion? What possibilities exist for cooperation between the state and religious communities and where is potential for conflict? How does religiousness or non-religiousness affect our identity? These are concrete sample questions that the Master's programme in "Religion, Ethics, and Politics" (MaREPol) deals with. MaREPol examines the relationship between religion, politics, and society from theological, philosophical, and political science perspectives. Students learn to address and understand the interaction between these spheres as well as the challenges that result from this complex field of tension and to develop interdisciplinary solutions. In doing so, they deal with the ethics and aesthetics of religions, analyse the relationship between religion and state in political systems, or discuss theological justifications for the political engagement of religious communities.