Non-denominationalism as a challenge for the educational work of the Northern Church

Religious education by and through German churches ensures educated religiosity, but only as an exception will cause participants of church related educational programs to join the church. Church related religious education often builds life-shaping or even life changing relationships with church workers, but rarely has an effect on membership. The authors illustrate this dilemma using five examples from the fields of youth work, diakonia, art and cultural work, music and the digital church, all of which impact personal religiosity and the image of the church but fail to address membership issues. The authors conclude that the future challenge of (not only) educational work by and through German churches will be to make its financing and thus membership issues an explicit topic while staying faithful to its protestant conviction that the church must never be an end to itself in its work.

gebildete Religiosität, Konfessionslosigkeit, Jugendarbeit, Diakonie, digitale Kirche