Hope

The fourth Religious Education Theological Study Day of the Institute for Catholic Theology on January 17, 2018 focused on the basic Christian concept Hope . Nearly 100 participants gathered at Holländischer Platz to explore the question of what critical potentials the Christian message of salvation can unfold today. The colorful mix of participants was enriching, ranging from students to teachers in the preparatory service to teachers.

The two main lectures, which stood at the beginning of the event, found quite different approaches to the topic.

Dr. Franz-Josef Nocke, professor emeritus of dogmatics at the University of Essen, placed his lecture under the title "What does hope bring to life in these times?". In fact, however, he went well beyond this by tracing the change of hopes in the 20th and 21st centuries and repeatedly classifying them theologically and illustrating them with biographical experiences.

Dr. Monika Jakobs, Professor of Religious Education in Lucerne, spoke on the topic  " Between Hope and Fear. Reflecting on ultimate questions with children and young people". She covered a wide range of topics, from the developmental psychology of children and adolescents to concrete materials for religious education.
The ensuing discussions also clearly showed that the topic of hope can inspire people today to engage in controversial theological thinking. Various workshops tried to find answers to the question of how this can also be done in schools.

The approaches were very diverse. In addition to the workshop by Dr. Julia Lis from the Institute for Theology and Politics in Münster, which explored the socio-critical implications of the Christian concept of hope under the slogan "Christian hope is combative" (Pope Francis), work was done in four workshops on the concrete implementation of the topic in religious education.

Vanessa Braun and Stefan Josef Schmitt designed a workshop on the topic "Obeying God more than people. Strengthening personality - gaining freedom". Other workshops focused on different methodological approaches. For example, Eberhard Streier (consultant for media work in religious education in the diocese of Essen) gave an insight into three relevant short films under the title "RISING HOPE - Images of Hope in International Short Films" and worked out with the participants ways of making them accessible in religious education classes. Dr. Eva Willebrand worked on dimensions of hope in children's and youth books and Josephina Barba together with Christine Gebhard & Anja Böddeker on motifs of hope in images and music in religious education.

All in all, the study day covered a wide range of topics, from basic theological questions to suggestions for concrete teaching methods.