World Approaches and Concepts of Temporality

 

Religions and religious phenomena are forms of world interpretation and world construction. This basic characteristic is clearly recognizable in plural social contexts.

Research on religious lines of interpretation and their manifestations - be they material or immaterial, historical or contemporary - is a basic task of theology. The significance of the interpretation of the world for the identity of the individuals involved and of the groups as well as their self-understanding in their respective contexts is essential.

In Aachen we work within this basic concern with the help of different approaches and thematic orientations.

Religious texts are both products and foundations of identity for the communities that regard them as authority. Biblical texts as crisis literature are evidence of such debates at different times, with diverse political and historical developments finding expression in the emerging writings.