Grußwort von OKR'in Katrin Hatzinger zur Vorstellung des 3. ökumenischen Berichts zur Religionsfreiheit weltweit vom 25. Oktober 2023

Presentation of the 3rd ecumenical report on religious freedom worldwide

Ladies and gentlemen,

dear guests,

A warm welcome to our presentation of the ecumenical report on religious freedom worldwide.

It is the third time since 2013 and 2017 that the German Bishops’ Conference and the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) publish a common report on religious freedom worldwide. It is based on the findings of an ecumenical working group who investigated, from a Christian perspective, restrictions and violations of the universal human right to freedom of religion, belief and conscience.

The report underlines that human rights cannot be deliberated seperately but must be seen in its relation to other human rights. Only as a whole within a comprehensive protection system human rights enable individual freedoms to unfold.

One of the driving factors for publishing the report can be found in the ecumenical partnerships worldwide maintained by churches in Germany and the strong sense of Christian solidarity creating an obligation to underline the particular plights of brothers and sisters in the faith.

The report not only deals with a number of country reports, but also highlights the connection of the fundamental right of religious freedom to different contexts and cross-cutting issues like migration, gender equality and non-discrimination, but also shrinking spaces for Civil Society or right-wing populism.

It is worth pointing out that while churches defend the right to religious freedom, they are inspired by the respect for the dignity of every person. Following the logic of the universality of civil rights and liberties, the churches’ commitment to the freedom of religion and belief therefore seeks to benefit all people.

Let me point out one last prerequisite for your debate: For the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) the state of play on freedom of religion of belief (FORB) is a litmus test for the general human rights situation in a country. Therefore EKD´s commitment to FORB cannot be separated from the general human rights work of protestant churches and their agencies.

I am very happy that we managed to gather quite a prominent panel today in order to discuss some of the findings of the report.

Before entering into the debate on the panel and taking on your questions and comments I would like to give the floor to my colleague Dr Patrick Schnabel. He is one of the co-authors of the report and was the Protestant Co-Chair of the ecumenical committee preparing it. Patrick Schnabel holds theological degrees from St Andrews and Göttingen universities and a PHD in law from Potsdam University. He is an expert on FORB.  Patrick currently works as theological counsellor at our office in Berlin.

Patrick, the floor is yours.