ERP Project on Pluralism and Fundamentalism in Germany and the United States

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ERP Project 的基本教義與多重認知在美國德國

ERP Project on Pluralism and Fundamentalism in Germany and the United States

Over the past two years, political relations
between the United States and Germany have stabilized,
while transatlantic economic integration remains deep and extensive.
American and European observers nevertheless speculate that the United States and Europe may be drifting apart in fundamental ways,
undermining their ability to cooperate on a broad range of issues.

German-American differences appear particularly profound
when it comes to the role of religion and religiosity in public and political life.
To some German observers,
the United States appears to be caught in the throes of a fundamentalist revival, while some Americans see Germany as a country that has become so secular that it no longer knows how to deal with religious expression in public life,
as seen in the "headscarf debate."

Behind these simplistic stereotypes lie more complex and fluid realities.
The constitutional and structural division of church and state in the United States has never meant the separation of religion from politics.
And in Germany, societal secularism coexists with church-state cooperation,
for example,
in the provision of religious instruction and social services.
Moreover, despite their different traditions,
Germans and Americans are confronting the dual challenges of two antithetical approaches to religion and public life: fundamentalism and pluralism.

Germans and Americans would benefit from a more nuanced understanding of religion and politics in their respective societies, in German-American relations,
and in our dealings with many other countries and conflicts in the world. Conversely, misperceptions of religion and public life in both countries serve to further highlight our differences rather than commonalities, and justify and strengthen the belief in the necessity and wisdom of a transatlantic divorce.

This AICGS project seeks to address the challenges presented to governments and societies by religious fundamentalism and by religious diversity.
The project's workshops address, among others,
issues such as the definitions and perceptions associated with fundamentalism and pluralism; the varying historical contexts within which fundamentalism and religious pluralism have existed;
the different effects of fundamentalism and religious diversity on politics in the United States and Europe; and the impact of these issues on democratic societies on both sides of the Atlantic.

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This project was concluded in February 2007.

In conjunction with this project, AICGS hosted two workshops. The first workshop on German and American Perspectives on Religion and Fundamentalism was held in November 2006 in Washington DC. The second workshop in May 2006 at the Humboldt Universität in Berlin focused on German and American Perspectives on Religious Pluralism: Domestic and Global Dimensions.

The following publications were published by AICGS as part of this project:

German-American Issues #7
Reconciling Religion and Public Life: Essays on Pluralism and Fundamentalism in the United States and Germany
By Patrick J. Deneen, Türkan Karakurt, Charles T. Mathewes, Erik Owens, and Rolf Schieder

Issue Brief #9
Confronting Religious Diversity in Germany and the United States
By Cathleen S. Fisher
*Please see erratum statement

Issue Brief #13
Disturbing Fundamentalism
By Joshua J. Yates

AICGS continues its focus on religion with a new project on Religion In Politics: Impact of Culture and Religion on Public Policy Debates, generously supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation.