Introduction

In "transnational" or "transcultural" contexts, theology generally appears in what is called the "interreligious dialogue". In times, where religiously motivated violence is broadly perceived as a topical socio-political issue, "dialogue" is a stamping-ground; may it be the so-called "interreligious dialogue" or the one "of religions". Reports about violent actions to which a religious motive is assigned, keep the topic as an imminent problem in mind, that needs to be solved in our globalised world. Thus they provide legitimacy and plausibility to undertakings labeled with the headword "dialogue". Dialogue, communication is seen and recognized as the instrument to avoid violence, as the method to prevent or defuse conflicts, as a remedy undoubted in its peacemaking effect.

At the same time, as is well known from psychology and conflict research today, in situations of inter- and intrapersonal altercations communication alone (may it be peaceful and intending peace) not necessarily abolishes conflicts and creates harmony. People can communicate over years in a way that rather stabilizes than discloses or even solves their conflict producing problem. The same applies to someone's "monologic-dialogic" inner discourse. Certain conflicts need a meta-level, in order to be understood in their genesis, in their grounds of emergence. The level, from which the spoken is perceived and understood, and the level from which it is answered, plays an important role. The right category of understanding, i.e. as what we understand it (as a plea, story, report, emotional expression, etc.), the right comprehension of its content ("what did he actually say?"), the right distance to the spoken ("what does he really want to say?"), the right self-distance ("why does it make me react like this?"), the right language ("how can I put it, to make him understand?") etc. is crucial. Although all of this is well known, projects that step back behind the dialogue and undertake systematic reflection, are at a disadvantage in what concerns their plausibility and societal legitimacy in comparison to those dedicated straight to dialogue and its promotion. Despite of that, they can play an important, sometimes even the decisive role for its success, for reaching the aim, for whose purpose the dialogue is lead: a mutual comprehension, a better intellectual as well as empathic understanding of each other, a peaceful way of interacting.

Outline of the project

The presented dissertation project regards religiousness under a systemic, function- and structure-analytic perspective: How can the mental function it performs, be described? What does a "religious operation" consist of? What is a religious judgment? What does someone declare, when he qualifies himself or his life as being religious? What does someone discern, when he recognizes something as religious? Which difference does he catch? And - to put it in a Batesonian way - what difference does that difference make? What does someone do, who interprets the world, speaks or argues in a religous way? What do these actions have in common with a quasi-religious interpretation, way of speaking and arguing, and in what do they differ from their non-religious forms? How are religious judgments structured? Do religious arguments follow a certain constant logic? Can it be described and analysed independently from their respective content of conviction? Does religiousness follow a certain logic? Do religious beliefsystems follow a certain common structure? Do they have a common "grammar" independently from their respective content?

All of these various questions are held together by their systemic, functional and structural view on religiousness. The object of research is neither the content of faith of a certain religion nor common contents of certain religions. The focus is not on religion in its historical, cultural, political etc. dimension. It does not deal with - to express it with N. Luhmann's categories - religion as a social system. The object of research is instead religiousness understood as a mental system, as a subsystem of the mental system "human being". As such it is analysed under the perspective of a "second-order observer" (Luhmann). The main task consequently is to analyse the distinctions drawn by religiosity, to observe its observations. The research question is, if, out of this view on the distinctions drawn by beliefsystems, formal, structural, functional or systemic commonalities can be put forth. The research is on invariants on the level of religious operations, on what their functions have in common, on commonalities in what religiousness accomplishes, on what it performs, on how it is structured, on which task it has for the mental system human being. Therefrom quasi-religious beliefsystems are to be questioned in terms of their functional equivalence, structural analogy and difference hereto.

If the research turns out to be succesful, these invariants, that consequently would be independent from the content of belief of the first-order observer, would contribute to a better understanding of religiousness (which of course would also result in a better understanding of "religion"). The interreligious dialogue, whose focus and results up to now are constricted to differences and congruencies concerning content of belief and acts of faith, both from a first-order perspective, would not be the least to profit hereof.

Selected Literature

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Comments, suggestions and criticism are welcome.