Dr. Wolfgang Huber is one of the most prominent theologians in Germany. Huber is a progressive thinker in ethical questions. He served as bishop of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia from 1994 until 2009. He was the Chairperson of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) from 2003 until 2009. Huber was awarded the Grand Federal Cross of Merit ("Bundesverdienstkreuz"), the Order of Merit of the Land Berlin, the Order of Merit of the State of Brandenburg and the European Cultural Prize. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Christian Academy of Warsaw, the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) and the Ruhr University Bochum. We talked to him about the culture of self-righteousness, refugees’ integration and the role of Protestant church in development aid.
The Global Perspectives Initiative has recently found out in a study with Allensbach that Germans trust the church aid organizations most when it comes to development aid. How is the Protestant church involved in development policy?
The development policy commitment of the Protestant church has a long history. It started in the 1950s with the founding of ‘Brot für die Welt’. The idea was to give something back from the aid that Germany received after World War II. "Care packages" are a famous symbol for it. And that's why in the mid-50s, ‘Brot für die Welt’ was founded. In the east as well as in the west of Germany people were donating considerable amounts of money and as a result, the church has gained great competencies. Partner churches were reliable partners. As you know, this is a big problem for development aid. The result was that the Federal Republic of Germany said: "We also provide the churches with budget funds, so they can use their channels to help people in need”, and this brought the famous principle of "helping people to help themselves" to life.
How do you perceive the role of the protestant church, especially in crisis regions? What is particularly successful on site and where are more problems?
Its strength lies in its fast contact. Its weakness is the scale in crises and disasters, one would like to do more. You do not always have the right partners and you may not have enough money for major catastrophes. These are the problems. But I am very happy that in many cases the churches are in the forefront of being there fast, to quickly assess what to do and then to mobilize people here as well. If we are sensitized in our country for crises that are far away, if we have reached a sensitivity to not confine ourselves to our own country and environment, then the churches have made a significant contribution.
Looking at Germany, how satisfied are you with the work of the Protestant church with regard to refugee integration?
I do not want to be immodest, but first, since the fall of 2015 we had a real movement that went through the country, characterized by empathy with refugees and the willingness to stand up for them, the willingness to spend time with the people, and the churches have a large share in it. And sometimes I get really upset that the public debate is dominated by reports about attacks on refugee homes, Pegida slogans, the AFD polemics, instead of the persistent work of hundreds of thousands of people who spend time with refugees and show that they are welcome here and are very successful with this. People learn German faster, they find apprenticeships faster, they find their own places to live faster, so they can leave the refugee homes. So that's very convenient.
Secondly, I am fascinated by the fact that there are regions in Germany, also neighborhoods in Berlin, where there are more members of ecumenical refugee initiatives, than refugees. This means that this is a holistic approach and the miracle is not the money - the miracle is the time people donate. For me, the words ‘time donation’ are the key words for dealing with the refugee situation.
You once coined a term that spoke of self-righteousness, a culture of self-righteousness. Is this something that you also find in today's European society?
Yes, in my opinion that is a problem for almost all European societies. With regards to the refugee question in my own country I am not euphoric and say: ‘Now we have a morally superior standard we can represent’. I see the negative side, I also see that to a large extent it is an expression of gratitude for the great opportunities we have in our own country. But there is no doubt that the opposing forces are strong.
What we have seen with Brexit, what we are experiencing in the emergence of right-wing populist parties, plays a significant role, and of course we lag far behind what is necessary if we only polemicize against it. We must ask, ‘How is it that such ideas resonate with the public?’ What are their fears, is there a lack of clear orientation for many people? And how do we get into conversation with people who are tempted by such ideas? This is the crucial future problem for democracy in the European countries for me.