The essay is scrutinizing seven exemplary possibilities which were widely excluded in the so called reform process. First it raises questions regarding the focus on demographics, in other words, the biological reproduction of the protestant faith community. Second, it is analyzing the specific 'inflation of relevance' resulting from the concentration on specific functionally differentiated and rather independent organizations beyond the parishes ("Werke und Dienste"). After short remarks on tendencies in favor of church mediatization, the essay turns to the problem of religious justifications of decision-making in religious organizations. The fifth issue taken up concerns the (avoided) debate about the leading organizational model of the church, in particular on the level of the regional church. The sixth problem the text is drawing attention to is the role of religious language and images in a religious organization, and in particular in the discourse of their top management. The essay ends the with the observation that most agents in the reform process attribute the need for reform to forces and factors external to the protestant churches and their theologies, thereby excluding a thorough self-criticism of their past organizational decisions and theological orientations.

Enthalten in:
Evangelische Theologie; 2016/1 Zweimonatsschrift (2016)

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Serie / Reihe: Evangelische Theologie

Personen: Thomas, Günter

Schlagwörter: Kirchenreform Kirchenleitung Organisationsentwicklung Systematische Theologie