Abastract The article analyses the intense public debate between the author Martin Walser and Ignatz Bubis caused by Walser's speach on the occasion of the award of the »Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels 1998«. lt argues that the conflict is based on two different conceptions of democratic public, public moral, and the function of moral elites in public. Both conceptions have religious implications and analogies in traditional theological conceptions of social corporations.

The joint declarations of the Protestant and Catholic Churches concerning ethical questions express the ecumenical progress achieved so far. However, the present ecumenical tension is obvious in issues conceming the understanding of the church, doctrine, and freedom of conscience. The Catholic Church has recently laid a greater emphasis on the hierarchical, authoritative and binding character of ecclesiastical doctrine in moral issues as weiL For the Protestant Church and theology however freedom of conscience is fundamental. In spite of these theological differences (...) the significance of joint declarations for the future must be emphasized. The arguments of Catholic and Protestant ethics can complement each other in joint declarations. The joint declarations reach!arger parts of today's society than texts worded by only one Church. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Jahrbuch für Wissenschaft und Ethik Jahrgang: 20 Heft: 1 Seiten: 29-50.

About 3,5 million Muslims live in Germany.The headscarves debate has become a recurring issue over the past months. The essay refers to the idea of tolerance as weil as to the basic right of freedom of religion. From this point of view, the author disagrees with bills which, if passed, would prohibit Muslim teachers from wearing headscarves in a classroom.

ZusammenfassungDie christlichen Kirchen sind in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland nach dem staatlichen öffentlichen Dienst die größten Arbeitgeber. Dies betrifft insbesondere das Gesundheits- und Sozialwesen. Nach der Gründung der Bundesrepublik haben die Kirchen ein eigenes individuelles und kollektives Arbeitsrecht aufgebaut, das in wichtigen Punkten vom staatlichen Recht abweicht. In der Weimarer Republik hatten die staatlichen Arbeitsgesetze hingegen auch für sie gegolten. Seit den 1950er Jahren stützen sie die Sonderbestimmungen ihres eigenen Arbeitsrechts darauf, dass ihre Beschäftigten sich in einer „Dienstgemeinschaft“ befinden. Dieser Begriff (...) entstammt der Rechtsordnung des NS-Staats. Der Aufsatz geht auf derzeitige rechtliche Kontroversen ein und kritisiert, dass die Kirchen sich zu extensiv auf ihr korporatives Selbstbestimmungsrecht berufen. Zurzeit betonen sie den religiösen Charakter der von ihnen getragenen Einrichtungen des Gesundheits- und Sozialwesens zum Teil noch stärker als zuvor. Für die Zukunft zeichnet sich die Notwendigkeit gesetzlicher Eingrenzungen ab. (shrink)

Until the 19th and 20th century, philosophers, theologians, and lawmakers were uncertain at exactly which moment an embryo was to be fully considered a human individual. The modern natural scientists have made clear that an embryo is an individual human being as soon as the egg and the sperm cell have fused. Taking this into account the article discusses current problems of dealing with embryos. It focuses on the ethical problems created by pre-implantation diagnosis and human germline engineering. The author (...) believes that under certain conditions it is ethically justifiable to use preimplantation diagnosis with embryos. (shrink)

About 3,5 million Muslims live in Germany.The headscarves debate has become a recurring issue over the past months. The essay refers to the idea of tolerance as weil as to the basic right of freedom of religion. From this point of view, the author disagrees with bills which, if passed, would prohibit Muslim teachers from wearing headscarves in a classroom.