"My justice, your justice. What do we mean when we talk about justice?"

On November 15, 2017, up to 240 pupils, 10 religion teachers, 20 trainee teachers and 20 students attended the Theological Study Day of the Institute for Catholic Theology of the University of Kassel. The invitation was taken up by upper school students from Kassel schools as well as from schools in Duderstadt, Heiligenstadt and Fritzlar. Based on an initiative between the university and the Studienseminar and in the sense of a comprehensive and interdisciplinary teaching concept, the idea was developed to work on the socially central topic of "justice" from different theological disciplines and scientific perspectives. 

After a welcome in the Gießhaus by Prof. Dr. Reese-Schnitker (Professor for Religious Education at the University of Kassel), Mrs. Siedentopp (Head of L4 at the Studienseminar in Kassel) and Mrs. Strecha (Head of L3 at the Studienseminar in Kassel) the main lecture of Dr. theol. Daniel Bertram (research associate at the Chair of Religious Education) entitled "Justice as an (always topical) subject of Christian ethics" focused on theological and philosophical reflections on the concept of justice.

After an introduction to theological perspectives on justice, John Rawls' theory of justice was explained, including his thought experiment "veil of ignorance." Rawls' thoughts were interrogated as an aid to understanding the New Testament parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt 20:1-16). A very intensive transfer of the sense of justice to everyday school situations but also socially virulent problems was made and critically evaluated. The lecture ended with the question: "What do I mean when I talk about justice?", which was written down and collected from all participants.

Subsequently, various workshops were offered repeatedly by students, trainee teachers and a research assistant, which again broadened the perspective, for example to biblical-theological or experiential approaches, or concretized for the school context, for example asking about bullying situations or performance justice in school.

The learning situations presented here were characterized by an interdisciplinary approach, in which the current, theologically and socially relevant topic of justice was considered and reflected upon from different theological disciplines and scientific perspectives. In addition, the testing of teaching situations by students and trainee teachers within the framework of the self-led workshops with pupils was a great gain in competence with regard to their future professional practice.

A first summary of the results of the written question "What do I mean when I talk about justice?", a lively discussion and a final critical constructive feedback in the plenum ended the very lively and discursive study day. It is planned to evaluate the data and feedback forms collected during the study day. In addition, there will certainly be a repetition of this study day for students at the Institute of Catholic Theology in the coming years.