fraternity

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Fraternity (of brother ), today also fraternity, describes the actual or desired social and solidarity behavior in a group or community that is not based on relationship or marriage , but on a voluntary association of people. Their equal relationships with one another are created through mutual " fraternization ", which can take different forms. Although fraternity does not literally include women , the word used to refer to people of both sexes . More recently, in the sense of a women's solidarity and of sisterhood spoken. The ideal of brotherhood is known in almost all cultures of the world, in the broadest sense it includes the dignity and equality of all people, humanity , mercy , pacifism and also love for one's enemies .

The idea of ​​brotherhood comes from the philosophy of the Stoa (from 300 BC) and from Judaism . It was also adopted into Christianity . Fraternity is based on the common descent from a father ( patrilinearity ). In contrast to the non-personal concept of God-Father in the Stoa, however, God the Father ( YHWH ) is presented as a personal counterpart who speaks, for example, to his chosen people. The fatherhood of God in Christianity becomes a fatherhood mediated in the incarnate Son Jesus Christ , which includes fraternal unity in the Son of God . Jesus of Nazareth himself taught brotherhood in the commandment to love one's neighbor .

Brotherhood of the stoa

The concept of brotherhood in the Stoa is based on an original, mythological concept of nature . A world-generating force is seen in heaven, which together with “ mother earth ” brings about all life in the world. In this sense heaven can then be called the “father” of men. Plato sees the Father and Lord in the eternal, transcendent idea of ​​the good , but their personality remains doubtful. There can be no question of a personal relationship with the creatures of the world. The doctrine of fatherhood here is a reinterpretation of the ancient myth of Zeus and Hera . The gods are just the tip of a sublime cosmos . There is no trace of a personal, angry, caring, forgiving Father-God in the Stoa.

Christian brotherhood

The unification with Christ includes the unification of Christians with one another and thus means the abolition of the dividing natural historical boundaries.

“But you should not be called Rabbi; because only one is your master, but you are all brothers. "

This eliminates the great main difference that had previously insuperably divided the world. The difference between Israel and the Gentiles , between clean and unclean, between the chosen and the non-chosen. The Christian concept of brother now prevails across all class-hierarchical orders of natural-historical boundaries.

Education and human rights

On the one hand, brotherhood (as fraternity ) was one of the battle slogans of the French Revolution , while the later labor movement predominantly used the term solidarity . Others see brotherhood as an ethical virtue that leads to peacefulness, tolerance , reconciliation with the enemy and helpfulness . In this sense it is related to the concept of connectedness . Every March, millions of people celebrate the Week of Fraternity with projects and events. In the Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations , the idea of brotherhood flowed. He is mentioned in the first article, which says:

“All people are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should meet one another in a spirit of brotherhood. "

Fraternity in Marxism

In Marxism there is again a distinction between two ethical zones. Here humanity has broken down into a historical opposition between capital and the proletariat : in the class struggle , the brotherhood of one includes enmity against the other. Only the overcoming of class society , the combative dialectical abolition of (material) inequality and oppression in the so-called classless society , should the “true” unity of humanity be established.

Week of Fraternity

Fraternity Week is an American-style event that has been held annually in March since 1952. It is organized by the German Coordination Council of Societies for Christian-Jewish Cooperation. Its aim is Judeo-Christian dialogue and the coming to terms with the Holocaust . The Buber Rosenzweig Medal has been awarded at the event since 1968. The respective Federal President is the patron.

See also

Web links

Commons : Jewish Brotherhood  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Muslim Fraternity  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files
Wiktionary: fraternal  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

literature