Porto Alegre, Brazil, Feb. 16 - The "Public Life, Religion and Politics: Ambiguities and Possibilities" ecumenical conversation, brought together participants from all the continents, with former General Secretary of the WCC, dr. Konrad Raiser among the moderators. Read also the exclusive interview with Habitus.

The first part of this ecumenical conversation consisted of an input from dr. Konrad Raiser, working in small groups and a questions and answers session. The brief but extremely well articulated contribution of Raiser and the efficiency and personal experience that accompany small group interaction left enough space for a wide range of questions, a privilege that is not always granted to such ecumenical encounters.

Dr. Raiser's input focused on introducing the terms religion and politics and their uses, an attempt to galvanize the thematic environment of the conversation. He stressed that usually religion and politics are used with the meaning that derives from the particular cultural context of the Enlightenment, while outside Europe for example, religion and culture are usually overlapping in significance. Currently, the definitions appropriated by the WCC stem from this background. Religion and politics define to different spheres and their interaction and clash has historically produced two different relationship models. By clearly separating between religion and state, the French model wants to safeguard the public political sphere from the intervention of religion, while in the American model, the same separation attempts at safeguarding the personal religious freedom from the intervention of the state.

In contemporary times, continued dr. Raiser, the widespread assumption that modernization would bring about a decrease in religious fervour was contradicted and now we witness a return of religion to the forefront of public life. But in Europe this takes place as a historical development strictly connected with the project of modernity. Therefore, the current experience of the public rediscovery of the values of religion make the European context unique. In other regions of the world, religion has never disappeared from public life.

There are some crucial issues that need to catch the attention of Christians, as they witness and experience the conflict between the secular ideology of rights on one hand and the defending of the collective dignity based on religious symbols on the other hand. It is crucial for them to deal with the distinction between the rule of law and their religious values. Therefore, "the greates temptation for religious leaders is to let themselves used in the public square as sources of legitimacy for political scopes".
All in all, "it is of utmost importance", dr. Raiser urged, "that religious communities begin to mark out together the basic criteria for assessing the moral and ethical legitimacy of political life and action".

A range of questions followed: how do we get to establish these criteria in societies where there are completely different interpretations of the "rule of freedom" coming from competing religious traditions? How can the problem of Churches electing/endorsing political leaders that do not share the same moral values? Pluralism seems to be more of a problem for many Churches than secularization; it is hard to live in pluralist societies where there are groups that do not respect pluralism; what can be done about this?

HABITUS INTERVIEWS KONRAD RAISER

At the end of the first ecumenical conversation day, Habitus approached dr. Raiser and asked several questions about the meeting and his input.

Habitus: Do you find the Ecumenical Conversations useful? Why?
Konrad Raiser: They are useful because they focus on specific questions and allow people to speak more freely. This is not usually the case in the hearing sessions of the WCC and it is usual that we lack time to address all the important subjects. But I have to tell you that this is not new to the WCC, as the current Ecumenical Conversations, albeit with their current improvements, have the same mission as the sub-sections did in previous General Assemblies.

Habitus: What happens with the input of these Ecumenical Conversations?
Konrad Raiser: Everything is taken to the different committees of the Assembly and there they give a glimpse of the range of the discussions on different subjects. A report is prepared and the most significant inputs actually very much help the General Assembly in its works and decision making.

Habitus: You made a recommendation at the end of your speech and suggested the establishment of criteria by religious leaders to provide the tools of assessing political life and action through moral values. Can you give an example of a political context where the recommendation that you made in the end of your speech is closer to realization? Also something that others could use as an inspiration?
Konrad Raiser: The first example that comes to my mind is South Africa. It is a country marked by extrem multi-culturalism and multi-identity in a background of different ethnic groups. But with careful dialogue and consultations among different religious communities, they have managed to create one of the most advanced constitutions in the world. This was a very good example of a sustainable and peaceful cooperation and interaction betweeen different communities. The negative aspect of the current situation in South Africa is that society does not manage however to live up to the constitutional norms that have been reached by means of this ideal cooperation.

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