Margot Käßmann

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Margot Käßmann, Reformation Day , Strasbourg , October 31, 2015.

Margot Käßmann (* 3. June 1958 in Marburg as Margot Renate Schulze ) is a German Evangelical - Lutheran theologian and pastor in various church leadership roles. Among other things, she was a member of the executive committee of the WCC (1983–2002), general secretary of the German Evangelical Church Congress (1995–1999), president of the Central Office for Law and Protection of Conscientious Objectors (2002–2011), regional bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover(1999–2010) and Chairwoman of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) (2009–2010). In February 2010 she resigned from the episcopal office and EKD council presidency after an alcohol ride in her car. From 2012 to 2017 she was "Ambassador for the Reformation Anniversary 2017 " on behalf of the EKD Council.

Life

Origin, childhood, studies and family

Margot Käßmann was born as the youngest of four children of the nurse Gertraut Schulze, née Storm, and the motor vehicle mechanic Robert Schulze. She grew up in Stadtallendorf and attended the Elisabeth School in nearby Marburg , where she graduated from university in 1977 .

From 1977 to 1983 she studied Protestant theology at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen , the University of Edinburgh , the Georg-August University of Göttingen and the Philipps University of Marburg with a scholarship from the Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst . During her studies in 1978 she took part in archaeological excavations in Acre , Israel , which lasted several weeks . From 1983 to 1985 she was vicar in Wolfhagen near Kassel.

In 1985 she was ordained to the pastor's office , and in 1989 she received her doctorate from the Ruhr University in Bochum . She wrote her doctoral thesis on “Poverty and Wealth as an Inquiry to Church Unity” under the later WCC chairman Konrad Raiser .

In 1981 Margot Schulze and Eckhard Käßmann married, whose last name they took. From 1985 to 1990 she shared a pastoral position with her husband in Frielendorf- Spieskappel in the Schwalm-Eder district . The then married couple Käßmann had four daughters.

WCC member

As a youth delegate of the regional church Kurhessen-Waldeck, Käßmann was elected in 1983 in Vancouver ( Canada ) as the youngest member of the central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), of which she was a member until 2002.

In 1990 Käßmann became the representative for the church development service of the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck. From 1990 to 1992 she had several teaching positions on ecumenism at the Church University in Leipzig and at the Protestant Faculty of the Philipps University in Marburg. From 1992 to 1994 she was the director of studies at the Evangelical Academy in Hofgeismar . From 1991 to 1998 she was a member of the Executive Committee of the WCC.

Bishop Margot Käßmann at the German Evangelical Church Congress (here in Bremen in 2009).
Regional Bishop Margot Käßmann (front, 2nd from left) in the plenum of the EKD Synod in April / May 2009 in Würzburg.

General Secretary of the German Evangelical Church Congress (1994 to 1999)

From 1994 to 1999 Käßmann was general secretary of the German Evangelical Church Congress, which has its central office in Fulda . The first woman in that office she followed the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick elected Christian Krause ; she in turn had two female successors in office. During her term of office there were three church days (1995, 1997 and 1999).

State Bishop (1999 to 2010)

In 1999 Käßmann was elected bishop of the regional church of Hanover - the largest church in the EKD with over three million members. Her episcopal office focused on ecumenism, structural changes in the EKD, children, upbringing and education, women, families, care for the dying, support for the disabled, church asylum, rich and poor, war and peace and others. As Regional Bishop Käßmann chaired the Landeskirchenamt held in the Council of Bishops and the Church Senate.

From 2001 to 2004 she was a member of the Council for Sustainable Development , which advises the German Federal Government on questions of sustainability and contributes to the further development of the sustainability strategy with contributions and projects and promotes social dialogue on it. Since her tenure as regional bishop, Margot Käßmann has also been the author of the Internet platform Göttingen Sermons on the Internet . Since 2002 she has been President of the Central Office for Law and Protection of Conscientious Objectors, which dissolved on December 31, 2014.

Health, divorce

In 2006, Käßmann announced that she was acutely ill with breast cancer and that her bishopric would be suspended for two months because of an operation.

In 2007 the couple divorced . Käßmann informed the governing bodies of the EKD and the Hanover Regional Church as well as their pastors about this step and found their support. She has considered resigning as bishop, but believes that this office depends on truthfulness. You do not refer to a "normality" of divorces, but stick to the Christian model of marriage . However, its realization could fail in individual cases. The previous practice of transferring divorced pastors in any case had been abandoned three years earlier.

In 2009, Käßmann declared that her cancer and possibly limited life expectancy had given her the courage to admit her failed marriage and divorce.

Chairwoman of the Council of the EKD (2009 to 2010)

On October 28, 2009, Käßmann was elected as the successor to Wolfgang Huber as the new chairman of the EKD. The Russian Orthodox Church, which does not allow women to be ordained a priest or to lead a leadership role, then questioned the continuation of their dialogue with the EKD, which they had had since 1959. Russian human rights activists like Lev Ponomarev saw this as a sign of ideological radicalization and disconnection from western modernity. While Käßmann advocated mutual respect for different understandings of office, the chief secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia called the election of Käßmann a "sign of crisis in Western society".

Resignation (2010)

On February 20, 2010 around 11 p.m., Käßmann drove over a traffic light crossing in Hanover with a blood alcohol concentration of 1.54 ‰ and was stopped by the police. In the media, this crime was discussed nationwide from February 23rd. The EKD Council unanimously expressed its confidence in Käßmann and assured her of its full support if she decided to remain in office. Some internal church opponents, who had already rejected their election, warned of the negative consequences of staying. After Käßmann “deeply regretted” her “bad mistake”, which she called “dangerous and irresponsible”, on February 23, she resigned from the episcopate and council presidency the following day: her mistake had damaged her leadership positions and she could not do them in the future exercise with the necessary authority. She wants to remain free in her own straightforwardness. She remains pastor of the Hanover regional church.

Her deputy at the time, Nikolaus Schneider , took over the presidency on a provisional basis ; The Lüneburg regional superintendent Hans-Hermann Jantzen , who was elected episcopal vicar , was entrusted with the provisional leadership of the Hanover regional church .

The resignation was welcomed in the media partly as logical or exemplary, partly as unnecessary. Marc Polednik and Karin Rieppel saw the "pattern of a perfect scandal" in the press reports at the time: mostly male media commentators would have used Käßmann's alcohol drive to suggest excessive demands in their management positions, double standards and the unreliability of their ethical positions. Such allegations were made after her announcement of private problems and her criticism of the Afghanistan mission. With the rapid resignation and admission of mistakes, she limited the damage, preserved her popularity and made her rehabilitation possible. She was then involuntarily stylized as a "resignation icon": "Outlawing the misstep turns into respect for resignation." This distinguishes the process from other scandals in Germany.

At the end of March 2010, Käßmann was sentenced by a penal order for negligent drunkenness in traffic (Section 316 (2) StGB) to a 30 daily fine with withdrawal of the driver's license and a ban of nine months from being granted again; she waived her right to appeal.

Activities from 2010 to 2018

In 2015 in the Marktkirche in Hanover when signing the book, which was presented together with Konstantin Wecker , Indignant You!

Margot Käßmann appeared in May 2010 as a speaker at the Ecumenical Church Congress in Munich for the first time after her resignation. At the beginning of June 2010 she definitely ruled out another candidacy for regional bishop who wanted an initiative from the Hanover regional church.

From late August to December 2010, she was a visiting professor at Methodist- founded Emory University in Atlanta , Georgia . From January 2011 to March 2012 she was visiting professor at the Ruhr University Bochum for ecumenism and social ethics (“ Max Imdahl visiting professor ”).

From 2005 to 2018 Käßmann was co-editor and columnist of the monthly evangelical magazine Chrismon .

On July 8, 2011, the EKD presented Käßmann as "Ambassador of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany for the Reformation anniversary 2017" and named in particular the "mediation and networking of ecclesiastical and secular concerns" as their task. She has held this office since April 27, 2012.

She rejected a candidacy for the office of Federal President, for which the SPD chairman at the time Sigmar Gabriel had proposed, in October 2016.

Early retirement (2018)

On June 30, 2018, Käßmann officially retired; she used the opportunity as a former pastor to be able to go from her 60th birthday with deductions from her monthly gross pension.

Positions

To the evangelical faith

As bishop Margot Käßmann advocated greater emphasis on the Christian faith in the Protestant Church. In confirmation class , they talked more about sects and drugs than about the Bible . She pleaded for a clear spiritual profile for church institutions. In Protestant day-care centers , one can not only sing happy autumn songs, but the biblical stories must be told. Children and adults should pray more again, and churches should look like churches and not like non-binding community centers. For them this does not mean “pure inwardness”, but “faith as a prerequisite for commitment”.

For example, when she was inaugurated in September 1999, Käßmann focused on the Christian creed. In her introductory sermon on John 20 : 19-29  LUT she spoke out in favor of a connection between faith and reason in order to “critically accompany the future of the world”. In a Christian community, perceiving and listening to worries, doubts, but also joy and success are important. “The church has to uplift people and not to keep them small. We need people with backbone and resilience, with dignity. ”In such a trusting community, people could also be put in a position to“ confess and confess ”. She concluded with a sentence from Heinz Zahrnt : "Faith is the heartfelt trust in God as an answer to the fear of the world."

Evangelicals in the EKD criticized Käßmann's relativization of the virgin birth or their support for open partnerships between homosexual pastors. Nevertheless, in this group she is mostly considered to be a “really pious Christian”. Käßmann also sees the positions represented by Dorothee Sölle as important provocations for the development of the church: Sölle's God-is-dead theology encouraged people to think independently about God, it played a decisive role in spreading feminist theology , the relationship of the rich German church to the Third world sharply criticized and with their poetry "the mysticism reopened for many Protestants".

Käßmann understands her book Roots That Give Us Wings, published in 2005, as an invitation to Christian faith based on “her own experience and enthusiasm for faith”. Her attempt to “combine evangelical spirituality and the genre of counseling literature” was received positively and rated, among other things, as a “new way of Christian preaching”.

To ecumenism

Margot Käßmann during her speech at the XII. Marburg Ecumenical Discussion 2010

In the WCC, Käßmann had long-term conflicts with the Russian Orthodox Church. This does not recognize the other member churches as fully valid churches and therefore rejects their baptism , official acts, ordination of women and joint worship services. A earned in three years compromise paper of the WCC saw therefore propose ecumenical worship ( worship ) by common prayer ( common prayer ) to replace, and put ordained women renouncing acts of worship close, not to provoke Orthodox. As a result, Käßmann and Wolfgang Huber resigned from the WCC Central Committee in 2002 and proposed a new World Federation of Reformed Churches that should remain members of the WCC.

Nevertheless, Käßmann continued to regard ecumenism as a central concern of every Christian in 2005, regardless of denomination: Because Jesus Christ prayed for the unity of his followers (Jn 17) and obliged all baptized Christians to share the Lord's Supper. Only ecumenism can credibly testify to unity in diversity in faith in Jesus Christ and thus promote the unity of humanity. She welcomed the growth of free churches and the Pentecostal movement across traditional confessional boundaries as a challenge to the denominations that have emerged from European church divisions to relativize their dogmatic differences and to work together practically, especially in the communion of the Lord's Supper . Since 2000 there have been a series of sobering setbacks and irritations: the Vatican as well as the EKD have again emphasized the divisive issues of the Reformation period (including indulgences , the authoritative Bible translation , the role of the papal office, equal rights for women and the lawful commissioning of Lay people in church offices). The Russian Orthodox Church has strengthened its anti-ecumenical stance and regards ecumenism as heresy. The WCC has in fact given up its role as the second voice of world Christianity, which can also provide independent impetus for discussion for its member churches. On the other hand, she saw signs of hope in the practical local cooperation of many congregations, in the lay movements and ecumenical church conventions.

In an interview on September 7, 2007, Käßmann stated that the self-image of the Roman Catholic Church of being the only holy church was unacceptable for Protestant Christians. Nevertheless, they are obliged to "live as much unity as possible". However, she does not expect a theological breakthrough in the next few years, so one should concentrate on practical cooperation on ecumenical issues. As positive examples, she cited the dialogue with Islam , hospital projects in diakonia , energy supply for church buildings with solar cells and the renunciation of genetically modified seeds. Her dogmatic dispute is also less important, she rather relies on “reconciled diversity” in ecumenism.

Overall, the ecumenical dialogue is far too “hesitant” for her, for example at the Lord's Supper for spouses of different denominations. During the tenure of Pope Benedict XVI. the ecumenical movement had not advanced; Demands by reform Catholics to abolish celibacy and admission of women to the priesthood apparently have no chance. The Latin mass is "incomprehensible from a Lutheran point of view" because church services have to be held in the vernacular so that "people can pursue religious questions themselves". But this topic should be clarified within the Catholic community.

The official Roman Catholic condom ban is hardly justifiable because of the risk of infection with AIDS . She hoped the Roman Catholic Church could see contraception and family planning positively. Women in conflict during pregnancy, divorced or homosexuals are generally met with too little love and too many accusations: "I consider the combination of religion and fear to be the wrong path." The gospel promise to be loved unconditionally enables that which Martin Luther affirmed " Freedom of a Christian ". This should be emphasized; therefore one should not prescribe certain beliefs and morals to people and otherwise threaten them with damnation.

The main speakers of the XII. Marburg Ecumenical Discussion 2010 (from left): Matthias Drobinski ( SZ ), Margot Käßmann (EKD Council Chair), Karl-Heinz Wiesemann (Bishop of Speyer).

At the XII. Marburg Ecumenical Conversation on January 23, 2010 with the Catholic Bishop of Speyer, Karl-Heinz Wiesemann and Matthias Drobinski from the Süddeutsche Zeitung , Käßmann denied the question asked in the title of the event New denominationalism - Ice Age in ecumenism? . She recalled the successes of ecumenism in the 20th century and saw the current task in clarifying the core differences with mutual respect. Precisely because unity can only be based on truth, Eberhard Jüngel's demand applies that one " agrees as precisely as possible about what one is initially unable to communicate about". The necessary austerity measures inevitably led to an emphasis on their own relevance at the local level in all churches. This is also an opportunity to highlight the differences in order to invite non-Christians to believe together in different ways and to learn from one another in the process. Constant dialogue is essential for this. Everyone has an interest in ensuring that “the other person with their strengths and profiles shines particularly well!”.

As short-term goals, Käßmann suggested the joint design of the Reformation Decade and the 500th Reformation anniversary in 2017 , whereby the EKD wanted to present Luther self-critically with his downsides in relation to Jews and Turks. The “Year of Baptism 2011” and the annual theme “Reformation and Music” planned for 2012 could also be designed ecumenically. A communal communion at the upcoming 2nd Ecumenical Church Congress 2010 is not yet possible, but meal communities with bread blessed according to Orthodox tradition are possible. This gives reason to hope for ecumenical progress.

To Islam

Margot Käßmann at a Freiburg lecture on the integration of Muslims in German society (2011)

In 2006, Margot Käßmann, as regional bishop, campaigned for an intensive dialogue between Christians and Muslims and welcomed the fact that this was successful in many cases. The churches should make their own position clear and advocate constitutional principles such as freedom of speech, freedom of belief and equality between men and women, as well as nonviolence in view of some tendencies towards radicalization and fundamentalism in Islam . She rejected interreligious celebrations as a relativistic mixture of religions.

In September 2007, Käßmann warned against monitoring converts to Islam, as suggested by the then Interior Minister Günther Beckstein (CSU). Converting should not be placed under general suspicion, even if she understands the fears of Islamists. Otherwise one would have to accept that converts to Christianity would also be suspected in Islamic states.

At the Reformation Festival in 2007, she warned of an anti-Islamic mood. The churches should support Muslims who profess the values ​​of a democratic society. Religions should not add fuel to the fire of political conflict.

In February 2008 she warned that the inclusion of parts of Sharia law in family law , which Archbishop Rowan Williams had proposed for Great Britain , would have "fatal consequences" for the freedom of women, which was "bitterly won" in Western democracies. She recalled the verdict of a local judge who refused to give a premature divorce to a Moroccan woman who had been beaten by her husband, because the man had only exercised his right to chastise according to the Koran .

Käßmann viewed the possible rededication of churches as mosques with skepticism or even disapproval. In January 2009 she aroused protests from Muslims when she referred to the EKD's position that churches should only be used as mosques if this is compatible with the religious feelings of the congregation members concerned and if it is unanimously endorsed by a congregation. She does not see this at the moment.

In October 2009, she emphasized that in the dialogue with Islam , respect and clarity were essential, since concealing the differences would not help. She advocates the construction of mosques in Germany, but also the construction of churches in predominantly Islamic countries. She ruled out common worship and prayers: “We pray to Jesus Christ . A Muslim couldn't do that. "

As chairman of the council, she declared in December 2009 on the Swiss referendum against the building of minarets : Not respecting places of worship also means not respecting the people who belong to them. Religion should not exacerbate conflicts, but must defuse them. Mosques are part of a free practice of religion that is valid for all, but rejecting minarets is also covered as free expression of opinion. Fears of Islam should be taken seriously. The referendum had shown how necessary an open religious dialogue is. Everyone who lives here must respect the constitution. Since the EKD has to stand up for the protection of human rights worldwide and there is massive persecution of Christians in other countries, it announced a "day for persecuted Christians" for 2010.

On child poverty, family and education policy

At the end of 2006, Margot Käßmann campaigned for the fight against child poverty to become a central church issue. It is a “scandal that every seventh child is dependent on welfare”. Outreach social work for children with massive problems must be particularly encouraged, and the church should be more present at public schools, for example through the local pastors. She supported the ideas of the “Alliance for Education” initiated by Federal Social Minister Ursula von der Leyen , such as the expansion of day-care centers into family centers.

In order to counteract “participation poverty”, educational opportunities would have to be improved and all-day schools would have to be offered nationwide. At the end of 2009, she expressed skepticism about the care allowance plans of the CDU / CSU. This could weaken the motivation to bring children to a day-care center and thus possibly reduce the chances of starting school. In contrast, the Catholic Bishops' Conference in 2007 emphasized parental rights and advocated the option of childcare under “equal financial conditions”. In the run-up to this, Bishop Walter Mixa had described the expansion of extra-family care for children under the age of two as a "return to GDR conditions". Käßmann sharply criticized this as “holding onto old role models”.

In a sermon at the Ecumenical Church Congress 2010 , Käßmann called the birth control pill a "gift from God". Positive are “freedom that doesn't have to degenerate into pornography” and responsible parenting; She also pointed out the still high maternal and infant mortality rates in poor countries.

On asylum, immigration and integration policy

Until her resignation, Käßmann was the chairman of a hardship commission set up by the Lower Saxony state parliament for asylum cases on her initiative . She had used in 2005 for an Iranian women, who mainly at the instigation of the Lower Saxony Interior Minister Uwe Schünemann in Iran should be deported. There she might have been threatened with stoning , since she was considered an apostate after divorcing her Muslim husband and converting to Christianity . Only after a Lufthansa pilot refused to fly the Iranian woman and Käßmann interceded, the case was renegotiated by the Lower Saxony state parliament and the Iranian woman was granted a right to stay.

In her inaugural lecture at the Ruhr University (January 12, 2011) on the topic of “Multicultural Society - Roots, Defense and Visions”, Käßmann criticized new tendencies towards xenophobia and indirectly contradicted Thilo Sarrazin's book Germany Abolishes itself : Migration and acceptance of the foreign is a central issue Bible. The Christian West would not have come into being without migration. Integration succeeds if cultural differences are neither leveled nor used for exclusion. Terms such as “multicultural” or “leading culture” are unrealistic. Christian religion can help to develop fear of strangers and intolerance and non-violent relationships by emphasizing the joy of cultural diversity. The lecture was widely noticed and received mostly positive.

To right-wing extremism and right-wing populism

Margot Käßmann at the Kirchentag 2009 in Bremen

Margot Käßmann was already strongly committed against right-wing extremism as a regional bishop . Above all, "with civil courage, political education [and] clear civic engagement" should be combated. For this, on the church side, local youth work is particularly necessary. For them it is "not just about punishment, but also about rehabilitation ."

She called the number of right-wing extremist motivated crimes alarming: "We must not give these agitators any space and must contradict them publicly without being scared." It is necessary that a large number of people defend themselves against right-wing extremism, because a democracy depends on committed citizens.

At the 2009 Kirchentag, Käßmann advocated the ban on the basis of anti-Semitic program statements by the NPD : “It is unacceptable for me if right-wing extremist ideas are represented by a party that is legitimized by its eligibility.” In this context, she recalled the failure of the Church in the time of National Socialism, for example during the November pogroms in 1938 . The churches should have learned from this experience that attacks on people of different faiths also affect Christians. They have to take this to heart with their Jewish and Muslim neighbors today.

At the Evangelical Church Congress in May 2017, Käßmann criticized the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD). The demand from their basic program "to achieve a higher birth rate of the local population by means of an activating family policy " is similar to the "little Aryan paragraph " of the National Socialists : "Two German parents, four German grandparents: you know where the brown wind is really blowing from" . The “hate speech by Marine Le Pen and Alice Weidel ” showed that women are not the better people. Men and women should be equally "resistant [...] to racism, sexism, agitation against the weak". AfD politicians and others, as well as the blogs Tichy's Insight and Axis of the Good, quoted their statements as shortened as if they had declared all citizens with German ancestors to be neo-Nazis. Käßmann considered filing a criminal complaint.

On conscientious objection and conscription

As regional bishop, Margot Käßmann was also president of the Evangelical Working Group (EAK) founded in 1956 to support conscientious objectors in Germany . On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the EAK on August 28, 2006, she recalled that the churches united in the WCC have rejected war as a means of politics since 1948 and therefore advocate the basic right to conscientious objection in all countries of the world. Even after the oral hearings of applicants for conscientious objection, which were abolished in 2003, the following applies:

"It remains a scandal in our society that a basic right is only granted after a state review or, in some cases, even denied."

The work of the EAK will remain necessary even after a possible abolition of compulsory military service , as there will always be conscientious objectors. She encouraged the EAK to continue to enforce “conscientious objection as the clearer sign of nonviolent peace” inside and outside the EKD.

In this context, she criticized the increasing injustice in the ratio of drafts: 85,000 people called up for civil service were compared to only around 60,000 people called up for military service . This breaks the principle of equal treatment in the Basic Law. Because it was only compulsory military service that created a compulsion to decide for or against the use of the weapon, its abolition is the best guarantee for conscientious objectors. Since the reliable care of those in need without community service is currently unthinkable, volunteer services such as the Voluntary Social Year should be promoted more strongly now .

In November 2011 Margot Käßmann took over the patronage of the nationwide campaign against arms exports “Aktion Aufschrei - Stop the arms trade!”.

On religious legitimation and causes of violence

In a lecture in 2007, Käßmann pointed out that religion was used specifically in Northern Ireland , the former Yugoslavia , the Middle East conflict and India to legitimize violence. Islamic fundamentalist terror is just as blasphemy as talk of a crusade against it. On the other hand, every religion has a core “that calls to peace ”. Belief in God is incompatible with the destruction of his creation . She called on the ecumenical movement to take sides for peace and human rights , as has been the tradition since Dietrich Bonhoeffer's call for a peace council and the founding of the Ecumenical Council (WCC) in 1948: for example, through consistent intervention against hate propaganda, political solutions to ongoing conflicts and a international agreement against arms trade. Instead of enormous armaments expenditure, investments must be made in the development of impoverished countries in order to remove the breeding ground for hatred. Methods of civil conflict resolution would have to be trained. She referred to examples in Cambodia and East Timor , where peace had been achieved “with the power of conviction and the staying power that religion can give”, as well as other, neglected mediation efforts. Religiously motivated actors often have a bonus in trust, are anchored on site and stay there after the conflict.

In newspaper interviews on December 24, 2009, Käßmann recalled the WCC resolution of 1948 (“According to God's will, war should not be”) and the EKD peace memorandum of 2007: Contrary to US President Barack Obama's opinion, there is no fair for Protestant Christians War , just a just peace. At best, you yourself can affirm that the UN is being equipped with police forces to prosecute international crimes. War is, however, "not legitimate, because by him at the end still suffering the civilian population." For them also in terms of the Second World War, she wondered why the Allies the inner-German opposition to the Nazis not strengthened before 1939 and in the course of the war the railway tracks to Auschwitz not bombed. War is always justified with allegedly hopeless predicaments that make the use of weapons unavoidable, but it releases an unjustifiable potential for violence, has “injustice, destruction, rape in tow” and “destroys everyone who is involved in it”. The trauma of soldiers have experienced themselves. - The Christmas message is “the announcement of a contrasting society”, which constantly reminds “that God wants it different”, and thus brings people “again and again to reflection [...], to a conscientious decision against the war and to a clear confession of their faith ” could.

For the Munich military historian Michael Wolffsohn, Käßmann delegitimized the war against Hitler; she has thus "lost all standards, especially the Christian". The fact that she supported the British appeasement policy before 1939 was rejected by authors close to the EKD as a misinterpretation. In March 2010, Käßmann wrote: The human rights of persecuted Jews and Eastern Europeans were rightly violently defended against the Nazi regime, but the bombing of cities and refugee groups, mass rape and expulsions were wrong. The criticism of this should not be devalued as a delegitimization of military force. This also includes the self-criticism of Christians in Germany for not having effectively advocated the Jews, Sinti and Roma.

On the Bundeswehr mission in Afghanistan

As early as November 2001, Margot Käßmann expressed skepticism about the chances of success of the Bundeswehr's mission in Afghanistan in civil reconstruction. At Christmas 2009 she declared that the Bundeswehr mission in Afghanistan was “not justifiable according to the EKD's broadest standards”. Military and civilian victims were suppressed for years and the Bundeswehr mission was given out as reconstruction aid. The violent conflict must be ended as quickly as possible, the German soldiers withdrawn as soon as possible, calmly and orderly. Steps such as interrupting the flow of funds for the arms and drug trafficking and mediation between the conflicting parties should be given priority. In view of the victims of the air attack near Kunduz , it is the duty of the military chaplain to provide critical support to Bundeswehr soldiers.

In her sermon on Christmas Eve 2009 in Hanover and her New Year's sermon 2010, Käßmann said, as a contrast to the Christmas card motto “Everything will be fine”:

“Nothing is good in Afghanistan. All these strategies have long hidden us from the fact that soldiers use weapons and that civilians are also killed. [...] But weapons obviously do not create peace in Afghanistan either. We need more imagination for peace, for completely different ways of dealing with conflicts. "

In the controversy triggered by this, the sentence “Nothing is good ...” was heavily criticized: as a “haughty, ... in every respect wrong general judgment” ( Klaus Naumann ) or as a naive, “ populist fundamental criticism ” and a departure from the previous EKD justification of humanitarianism Military interventions ( Reinhold Robbe , SPD Federal Armed Forces Commissioner). Käßmann did not show any realistic alternatives for protecting the Afghan population from camouflaged suicide bombers (Karsten Wächter, military dean). She represents the minority position of the Left Party and tends to deny the soldiers that they are Christian ( Hans-Ulrich Klose , SPD). She had not spoken to them beforehand and moved away from Wolfgang Huber's position ( Ulrich Kirsch , Bundeswehrverband ).

In contrast, Manfred Kock (ex-EKD council chairman) emphasized : Käßmann did not discriminate against the soldiers and only represented the EKD position. Archbishop Robert Zollitsch , chairman of the Catholic German Bishops' Conference, emphasized that the Bundeswehr's mission in Afghanistan could not be continued “as before”. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Federal President Horst Köhler affirmed Käßmann's statements as legitimate interference and debate, without fully agreeing to their content.

Käßmann defended himself: she did not demand an immediate withdrawal of the Bundeswehr and did not declare everything in Afghanistan to be bad. She learned of trauma from direct conversations with soldiers . A sermon is not a political declaration; they do not allow themselves to be captured by any party. She turned down an invitation from the then Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg to Afghanistan.

At the 2010 London Afghanistan Conference , a church word of the EKD on January 25, 2010, co-authored by Käßmann , called for a critical assessment of the Federal Armed Forces deployment . In addition to the Bundeswehr mandate, the Bundestag should decide to use civil forces. Käßmann welcomed the conference resolution for more civilian helpers and a dropout program for the Taliban as a step in the right direction.

To same-sex marriage

Käßmann is of the opinion that opening up marriage to homosexual couples can be justified in a Christian and conservative manner. "If two people love each other and want to marry out of this love, bind each other, stand up for one another, who wants to restrict or even condemn that?"

criticism

The theologian Friedrich Wilhelm Graf accused Margot Käßmann of self-staging in 2010 on the occasion of her resignation: by announcing private problems, she had achieved a “permanent media presence” and leveled the difference between her own self and official mandate. In the Protestant tradition, she interfered in politics in a moralizing and populist manner and declared her rejection of the Bundeswehr's mission in Afghanistan as the only possible EKD position. In doing so, she equated religion and morality and promoted a new authoritarian clericalism that contradicted the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers .

The historian Hartmut Lehmann criticized Käßmann's "historically questionable portrayal" of Martin Luther in the anniversary of the Reformation. In doing so, she ignored the results of Reformation research and instead referred to popular Luther legends. Equally worrying is that by referring to polemical and delimiting projections, she misses opportunities that are in the interests of all Christians. Käßmann countered him that legends "always have a true core" and lamented "diffuse fears of Luther legends".

Awards

Fonts (selection)

  • The Eucharistic Vision. Poverty and Wealth as a Question to the Unity of the Church in the Discussion of the World Council. (Dissertation 1989) Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 1992, ISBN 3-579-02071-4 .
  • With good reason. Viewpoints and sermons . Lutherisches Verlagshaus, Hannover 2002, ISBN 3-7859-0877-6 .
  • Education as a challenge. 5th edition, Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2002, ISBN 3-451-05197-4 .
  • What can we hope - what can we do? Answers and guidance. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2003, ISBN 3-451-05385-3 .
  • Church in social conflicts. Church leadership sermons. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-17-017901-2 .
  • To live well. Thoughts for every day. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2004, ISBN 3-451-05552-X .
  • Hope is sown. 14 encounters on Jesus' Way of the Cross. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2007, ISBN 978-3-451-29356-6 .
  • More than pious wishes. What moves me. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2007, ISBN 978-3-451-05852-3 .
  • With heart, mouth and hands. Living spirituality in everyday life. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2007, ISBN 978-3-579-06442-0 .
  • Mothers of the bible. 20 portraits for our time. 2nd edition, Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2008, ISBN 978-3-451-29855-4 .
  • In the middle of life. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2009, ISBN 978-3-451-30201-5
  • My feet in a wide space. edition chrismon (Hansisches Druck- und Verlagshaus), Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-86921-014-8 .
  • What I want to give you. Landmarks along the way. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2009, ISBN 978-3-579-07013-1 .
  • How is it in heaven Children ask about God and the world. Abridged, updated new edition, Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2009, ISBN 978-3-451-05993-3 .
  • Simply Evangelical Volume 3. The great you: The Lord's Prayer. Lutheran Publishing House, 2010, ISBN 978-3-7859-1002-3 .
  • Fantasy for Peace or: Blessed are those who make peace. edition chrismon (Hansisches Druck- und Verlagshaus), Frankfurt am Main 2010, ISBN 978-3-86921-038-4 .
  • Hope under the rainbow or: Sing a hallelujah in an emergency. , edition chrismon (Hansisches Druck- und Verlagshaus), Frankfurt am Main 2010, ISBN 978-3-86921-057-5 .
  • Find security. Answers to life's questions. Updated new edition, Verlag Kreuz , Freiburg im Breisgau 2010, ISBN 978-3-7831-3446-9 .
  • Don't forget the hospitality! Ullstein, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-550-08001-2 .
  • Longing for life . adeo Verlag, Aßlar 2011, ISBN 978-3-942208-26-0 .
  • On father’s skirt . Margot Käßmann and Kitty Kahane tell a story about Josef & his brothers. edition chrismon (Hansisches Druck- und Verlagshaus), Frankfurt am Main 2011, ISBN 978-3-86921-077-3 .
  • Silence and space . With photographs by Monika Lawrenz. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2012, ISBN 978-3-451-32489-5 .
  • More than yes and amen. Yes, we can make the world a better place . adeo Verlag, Aßlar 2013, ISBN 978-3-942208-77-2 .
  • The temporal blessing. Live with hope. To die in peace. adeo Verlag, Aßlar 2014 ISBN 978-3863340247 .
  • Believe when in doubt. What we can rely on , Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2015, ISBN 978-3451328329 .
  • Don't worry soul Why we don't have to despair , adeo Verlag, Aßlar 2016, ISBN 978-3863341121 .
  • Friendship that sustains us in life , bene! Verlagsgruppe Droemer Knaur, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-96340-013-1 (Illustration: Sarah Wiesner).
  • Take courage! The power of prudence in times of crisis . level! Verlag, Munich 2020, ISBN 978-3-96340-167-1 .

Editor and co-author

  • Church in motion. 50 years of the German Evangelical Church Congress. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 1999, ISBN 3-579-02099-4 .
  • Overcoming violence. A decade of the World Council of Churches. Lutherisches Verlagshaus, Hannover 2000, ISBN 3-7859-0803-2 .
  • Ecumenism at the crossroads. Lutherisches Verlagshaus, Hanover 2003, ISBN 3-7859-0878-4 .
  • In the world you are afraid. Lutherisches Verlagshaus, Hannover 2004, ISBN 3-7859-0905-5 .
  • If your children ask tomorrow. On the future of the Evangelical Church. In conversation with Wilfried Köpke . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2005, ISBN 3-451-28600-9 .
  • Roots that give us wings. Faith journeys between heaven and earth. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2005, ISBN 3-579-06908-X .
  • Ecumenism moves. The churches on the way to each other. Verlag Kreuz, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-7831-2530-8 .
  • On the way with body and soul. Handbook of pilgrimages in the Hanover regional church. Lutherisches Verlagshaus, Hanover 2007, ISBN 978-3-7859-0946-1 .
  • Held in God's hand. Women's prayers. Herder Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 2011, ISBN 978-3-451-32437-6 .
  • God wants to see action. Christian resistance against Hitler. A reader. Selected, introduced and commented on by Margot Käßmann and Anke Silomon. Verlag CH, Beck, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-406-64453-5 .
  • Strong sentences. edition chrismon (Hansisches Druck- und Verlagshaus), Frankfurt am Main 2013, ISBN 978-3-86921-120-6 .
  • Be indignant! (with Konstantin Wecker) Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2015, ISBN 978-3-579-07091-9 .
  • Life doesn't rhyme. Women's poems , Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau, 2016, ISBN 978-3451350078 .
  • Change the world. What faith has to tell us today (with Heinrich Bedford-Strohm), Aufbau Verlag, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3351036447 .

Essays

  • Euthanasia. Answers to an ethical border question in the Netherlands and Germany. (Panel discussion with Dr. Jacob Jan Frederic Visser, Dutch Ministry for Public Health, Welfare and Sport, in the auditorium of the University of Osnabrück on June 6, 2002.) In: Rainer Künzel, Hans-Jürgen Fip, Henning Buck (eds.): An the limits of life. Osnabrück Yearbook Peace and Science, Vol. 10/2003, V&R Unipress 2003, ISBN 3-89971-119-X , p. 47ff.
  • Future profile in hope, freedom and responsibility. In: Susanne and Peter Munzert: Quo vadis Church? Kohlhammer, Stuttgart a. a. 2006, ISBN 3-17-018881-X , pp. 25ff.
  • Conflict resolution. In: Margot Käßmann, Heide Simonis , Necla Kelek , Petra Gerster : Strong women - self-confident - courageous - committed. Weimarer Reden 2007. Weimarer Taschenbuch Verlag, Weimar 2007, ISBN 978-3-939964-03-2 .

reception

  • Renata Schmidtkunz : Margot Käßmann - Dare to be free! , Portrait documentary, 45 min., WDR / BR 2017.

literature

  • Heike-Ulrike Wendt: Success is female. Why women no longer play second fiddle . mvg Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-636-06360-1 , pp. 67–78: Dr. Margot Käßmann, 49, bishop . ( books.google.de )
  • Anna-Katharina Szagun: “You have something to say.” Women between the pulpit and the chair . Lit Verlag, Münster 2002 (= Rostocker Theologische Studien; Vol. 11), ISBN 3-8258-6465-0 , pp. 37–52: Margot Käßmann, Hannover . (Short biography and two sermons by Käßmann; books.google.de )
  • Christof Vetter and Sylvia Mustert (eds.): Engaged Evangelisch - Ten Years of a Bishop. Lutherisches Verlagshaus, Hannover 2010, ISBN 978-3-7859-1029-0
  • Marc Polednik and Karin Rieppel: The Bishop's Dark Night, Margot Käßmann - From Protestant Overmother to Resignation Icon , in: Fallen Stars - Rise and Fall in the Media World, pp. 18–31, Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978- 3-608-94623-9
  • Manfred Kwiran: Margot Käßmann - In the middle of life . In: Michael Klöcker / Udo Tworuschka (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Religionen. Churches and other religious communities in Germany. Landsberg / Munich 1997ff. (I-14.9.9), pp. 1-31.
  • Vera de Vries: Margot Käßmann , in: Tigo Zeyen, Anne Weber-Ploemacher (eds.), Joachim Giesel (photos): 100 Hanoverian Heads , Hameln: CW Niemeyer Buchverlage, 2006, ISBN 978-3-8271-9251-6 and ISBN 3-8271-9251-X , pp. 102f.
  • Uwe Birnstein : Margot Käßmann. Follow what your heart advises you. Biography , bene! -Verlag, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-96340-000-1
  • "Burning social issues belong on the pulpit". To say goodbye to the Reformation Ambassador and Regional Bishop a. D. Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Margot Käßmann will retire on June 30, 2018. Editor and publisher: Joint work of Protestant journalism (GEP). Frankfurt am Main, 2018

Web links

Commons : Margot Käßmann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Uwe Birnstein: Margot Käßmann - Follow what your heart advises you, Munich 2018.
  2. Time School & Education No. 45, October 2016, p. 34.
  3. Former Bishop Margot Käßmann speaks in the Stadtkirche , January 20, 2012, accessed on May 2, 2016, on hna.de.
  4. Press release of the EKD, March 24, 2006: New Secretary General of the German Evangelical Church Congress
  5. For the first time a woman at the head of the EKD. Käßmann elected as the new EKD council chairman. Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), October 28, 2009, accessed on February 25, 2010 . ; Heike-Ulrike Wendt: Success is female. Why women no longer play second fiddle . mvg Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-636-06360-1 , pp. 67–78: Dr. Margot Käßmann, 49, bishop . ( books.google.de )
  6. Ralf Tils: Political Strategy Analysis. Conceptual bases and application in environmental and sustainability policy . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-531-14461-8 , pp. 214-216. ( books.google.de )
  7. KDV Central Office: The board of the KDV Central Office ( Memento from December 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  8. Jörg Zittlau : Bishop Margot Käßmann has breast cancer . ( Memento of September 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) In: RP online , August 30, 2006
  9. ^ Divorce of Bishop Käßmann. The woman who dares. Süddeutsche Zeitung , May 15, 2007, archived from the original on February 18, 2010 ; Retrieved February 25, 2010 . ; Bishop Käßmann explains her divorce to pastors. The husband will not be transferred from his Kassel position. Evangelical Press Service (epd Niedersachsen – Bremen), May 16, 2007, accessed on December 31, 2012 .
  10. Frankfurter Rundschau, September 25, 2009: This question is annoying, honestly!
  11. Peter Wensierski: Evangelical Church. Käßmann is the new head of the German Protestants. Spiegel Online , October 28, 2009, accessed February 25, 2010 .
  12. ^ Käßmann election. Russian Orthodox end dialogue with Protestant Church. Spiegel Online , November 12, 2009, accessed February 25, 2010 .
  13. EKD.de, February 24, 2010: The EKD Council expresses his confidence in Margot Käßmann
  14. Käßmann's Critics - Crocodile Tears in Streams. Frankfurter Rundschau, February 24, 2010, archived from the original on March 1, 2010 ; Retrieved March 5, 2010 .
  15. EKD council chairwoman Käßmann stopped with 1.54 per thousand at the wheel . In: Die Welt , February 23, 2010
  16. ^ Johannes Neukirch (press spokesman) / Margot Käßmann: Press statement by the regional church on the resignation of regional bishop Dr. Margot Käßmann / Explanation Käßmann in full. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, February 24, 2010, accessed on February 25, 2010 .
  17. ^ Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, November 8th, 2010: Schneider succeeds Käßmann at EKD head.
  18. Marc Polednik, Karin Rieppel: The dark night of the bishop: Margot Käßmann - from the Protestant supermother to the resignation icon . In: Marc Polednik, Karin Rieppel: Fallen Stars - Rise and Fall in the Media World. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-608-94623-9 , pp. 18–31
  19. Press release March 25, 2010 Hanover District Court
  20. ^ Frank Vollmer: Kirchentag celebrates Käßmann. In: Rheinische Post . May 14, 2010, accessed May 28, 2018 .
  21. Margot Käßmann: It remains with the resignation . In: Focus , June 2, 2010
  22. Joachim Frank (Frankfurter Rundschau, August 27, 2010): For now I'm gone .
  23. RUB.aktuell, August 4, 2010: Margot Käßmann becomes the first Max Imdahl guest professor
  24. Christof Vetter: Council of the EKD appoints Margot Käßmann to the group of editors “chrismon”. In: ekd.de . October 4, 2005.
  25. EKD press release, July 8, 2011: Käßmann is back in the service of the Protestant Church in Germany .
  26. berlin.de, April 27, 2012: Käßmann introduced as Luther ambassador
  27. ^ Die Zeit, October 12, 2016: Käßmann does not want to be Gauck's successor
  28. Ex-Bishop Margot Käßmann retired. In: www.welt.de. June 30, 2018, accessed July 2, 2018 .
  29. Stefan Berg, Peter Wensierski: People can fail . In: Der Spiegel . No. 21 , 2007, p. 42-44 ( online ). Peter Wensierski: Evangelical Church. Käßmann is the new head of the German Protestants. Spiegel Online , October 28, 2009, accessed February 26, 2010 .
  30. Anna-Katharina Szagun: “You have something to say.” Women between the pulpit and the chair. LIT Verlag, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-6465-0 , pp. 39–46 ( books.google.de )
  31. ^ , The Evangelicals and the EKD Council Chairwoman Käßmann . ( Memento of January 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Ekklesia-Nachrichten, December 2, 2009
  32. ^ Peter Wensierski: Evangelical Church: Käßmann is the new head of the German Protestants . In: Spiegel Online , October 28, 2009
  33. ^ Margot Käßmann: Dorothee Sölle brought the church forward with her provocations . NDR 1, April 28, 2003, accessed March 2, 2010
  34. Wolfgang Vögele: World design and certainty. Everyday ethics and theological anthropology. Lit Verlag, Münster 2007, ISBN 978-3-8258-9865-6 , pp. 135ff.
  35. ^ Final report of the special commission on Orthodox participation in the WCC , quoted by Margot Käßmann: Auf gute Grund. Viewpoints and sermons. Hanover 2002, p. 290
  36. Renate Kortheuer-Schüring (epd): Change of mood in the ecumenical movement? ( Memento from May 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (EKD archive, 2002)
  37. ^ Margot Käßmann: What will follow the century of ecumenism? In: Margot Käßmann, Wolfgang Schäuble, Cornelio Sommaruga, Wolfgang W. Müller (Eds.): Horizontal ecumenism: Otto Karrer lectures on ecumenism, Caritas and interreligious dialogue. Theological Verlag, Zurich 2007, ISBN 3-290-20047-7 , pp. 13–34
  38. a b Criticism of the Pope. "I'm only jealous of his red shoes". Spiegel Online , September 7, 2007, accessed on February 26, 2010 (interview with Margot Käßmann).
  39. Dirk Pilz: A question of trust. Sunday matinee in DT: Gregor Gysi in conversation with Margot Käßmann . In: Berliner Zeitung , January 18, 2010
  40. New Denominationalism - Ice Age in Ecumenism? - XII. Marburg ecumenical discussion on January 23rd . Press release of the city of Marburg of December 21, 2009, accessed on March 24, 2010.
  41. Margot Käßmann quoted Eberhard Jüngel here according to an article in the FAZ of August 15, 2005 (see text from Käßmann's speech of January 23, 2010, among others published by the EKD according to the following reference).
  42. ^ A b Margot Käßmann: New Denominationalism - Ice Age in Ecumenism? . Lecture at the XII. Marburg ecumenical discussion. EKD, January 23, 2010, accessed on March 24, 2010.
  43. Tagesschau.de, December 24, 2006: Debate on interreligiousness: Käßmann calls for steadfastness in dialogue with Islam (tagesschau.de archive)
  44. Tagesschau.de, September 7, 2007: Käßmann warns against monitoring Islamic converts (tagesschau.de archive)
  45. Käßmann warns of anti-Islamic sentiment . ( Memento from October 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) In: Abendblatt , October 31, 2007
  46. Tagesschau, February 8, 2008: British Archbishop calls for Sharia law to be introduced ( Memento of November 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  47. ^ Margot Käßmann: Values ​​as a location advantage. From the necessary discussion of values ​​in business, society and politics . (PDF, p. 4) Lecture to the Federal Chamber of Tax Advisors, Hamburg, May 4, 2009
  48. ^ Felix Harbart: Evangelical Church. Muslims angry with Bishop Margot Käßmann. Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung , January 22, 2009, accessed on February 26, 2010 .
  49. Käßmann for clarity in the dialogue with Islam. Idea.de, October 14, 2009, archived from the original on October 14, 2009 ; accessed on March 2, 2014 .
  50. Käßmann: Mosques are part of our reality . Evangelisch.de, December 3, 2009
  51. Käßmann wants to make child poverty a central issue . ( Memento of September 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) epd , December 22, 2006
  52. Der Tagesspiegel, February 21, 2010: Woodcut-like and dangerous . Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ursula von der Leyen in an interview with Bishop Margot Käßmann
  53. ^ Margot Käßmann urges initiatives against child poverty . epd, December 18, 2009
  54. Controversy over day nurseries Evangelical bishop attacks Mixa . ( Memento from March 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , April 10, 2007
  55. child care. Church dispute over cribs . Zeit Online 15/2007
  56. provocation. Käßmann praises pill in the cathedral as a gift from God . Welt Online, May 13, 2010
  57. You are threatened with stoning: Iranian women should be allowed to stay in Germany . In: Abendblatt , February 22, 2005. Jutta Schreur: “Man, where are you?” An evangelical assessment . Deutschlandradio Kultur, May 24, 2009
  58. Full texts and audio recordings: Full house at Margot Käßmann's inaugural lecture at Ruhr University Bochum, January 12, 2011; Margot Käßmann: Inaugural Lecture as Max Imdahl Visiting Professor: Multicultural Society - Roots, Defense and Visions ( Memento from April 7, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 198 kB)
  59. Examples: Matthias Dobrinski: Margot Käßmann, die tense professor , Süddeutsche Zeitung, January 13, 2011; Fritz Habekuß: Ex-bishop at the university: Käßmann's inaugural service , Der Spiegel, January 13, 2011; Counterexample: Matthias Kamann: Professor Käßmann as a freelance prophet , Die Welt, January 12, 2011
  60. politik-digital.de / BpB: "We have to find new ways to reach people." Chat with Dr. Margot Käßmann from June 18, 2001 ( Memento from November 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  61. ↑ Regional bishop wants to fight for protection of Sunday. evlka.de, December 28, 2006
  62. Kirchentag: Bishop Käßmann calls for a ban on the NPD. In: Kirchentag: Reports - Part 3. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover , May 23, 2009, accessed on February 26, 2010 .
  63. ^ New Germany, May 25, 2017: Käßmann attacks the AfD church convention
  64. Corinna Buschow (Domradio, May 28, 2017): Käßmann is considering legal action against fake news after AfD criticism
  65. Lalon Sander: The transition media taz.de, June 1, 2017
  66. Press release of the EKD 178/2006: 50 years of Protestant work for conscientious objectors
  67. Markus Drescher: A fight against the compulsion to fight. 50th anniversary for the KDV central office: the abolition of the "conscience test" was the greatest success so far
  68. ^ Action outcry: patron of the campaign: Margot Käßmann
  69. ^ Margot Käßmann: Religion as a factor in defusing conflict . In: Felix Leibrock (Ed.): Strong women - self-confident - courageous - committed. Weimarer Reden 2007. Weimarer Taschenbuch Verlag, Weimar 2007, ISBN 3-939964-03-4 , pp. 23–50
  70. Markus Weingardt: The Peace Potential of Religions , unpublished manuscript, 2006. Quoted from: Margot Käßmann: Religion as a factor in defusing conflict . Weimar 2007, pp. 40-42
  71. Katja Tichomirowa: "What happens in Afghanistan cannot be justified". The EKD council chairwoman, Margot Käßmann, on war, violence as a means of politics and the consolation of the Christmas message . In: Berliner Zeitung , December 24, 2009
  72. Historian Wolffsohn: Käßmann doubts war against Hitler! Bild.de, January 18, 2010
  73. Michael Wolffsohn: Käßmann's story: The bishop and her false image of the war against Hitler . In: Jüdische Allgemeine , January 21, 2010. Jan Fleischhauer: Afghanistan Debate: Käßmann's little history lesson . In: Spiegel Online , January 17, 2010
  74. Bernd Buchner: Käßmann Debate: There they are again, the bad do-gooders . Evangelisch.de, January 19, 2010
  75. Margot Käßmann: Fantasy for Peace or: Blessed are those who make peace. Frankfurt am Main 2010, pp. 58–61
  76. Annual report before the 22nd regional synod, November 29, 2001. In: Margot Käßmann: On firm ground . Hanover 2002, p. 136
  77. a b Interview: Käßmann for the withdrawal of German soldiers from Afghanistan . In: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung , December 24, 2009
  78. ^ Christvesper Marktkirche Hannover, December 24, 2009: Sermon by Margot Käßmann ; Margot Käßmann: Sermon in the New Year's service in the Frauenkirche Dresden (January 1, 2010)
  79. Klaus Naumann: Afghanistan: Criticism of Käßmann: Onerous decisions . ( Memento from March 4, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , January 28, 2010
  80. Afghanistan dispute: Open letter to EKD chairwoman Käßmann . In: Die Welt , February 10, 2010
  81. Rheinische Post, January 16, 2010: Debate about the Afghanistan deployment: Military dean calls Käßmann "unrealistic"
  82. ^ Alan Posener: Afghanistan criticism: Bishop Käßmann angered the politicians . In: Die Welt , January 2, 2010
  83. picture, January 14th 2010 Mrs. Käßmann was supposed to proclaim God's word
  84. Der Spiegel, January 4, 2010: Afghanistan Debate: Bundeswehrverband criticizes EKD Council Chairman Käßmann
  85. Der Spiegel, January 14, 2010: Afghanistan Debate: Chancellor takes Käßmann under protection .
  86. 1000 years Michaelis / Federal President praises critical words of the regional bishop on Afghanistan (January 17, 2010)
  87. FAZ, January 3, 2010: Debate on the Afghanistan mission: Sharp criticism of Käßmann .
  88. Der Spiegel, January 4, 2010: Afghanistan Debate: Bundeswehrverband criticizes EKD Council Chairman Käßmann .
  89. Käßmann does not go to Afghanistan with the Defense Minister. idea.de, February 21, 2010, archived from the original on February 22, 2010 ; accessed on March 2, 2014 .
  90. Margot Käßmann, Nikolaus Schneider, Martin Dutzmann, Renke Brahms (EKD): Live from God's Peace - Ensure Just Peace (January 25, 2010)
  91. Frankfurter Rundschau, January 27, 2010: "EKD stands behind my position" ( Memento from March 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  92. Margot Käßmann The "gay marriage" can be justified in a Christian way. Idea, May 31, 2015, accessed on June 2, 2015
  93. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Graf: Church twilight: How the churches gamble away our trust. CH Beck, 2nd revised edition, Munich 2011, ISBN 3-406-61379-9 , pp. 69-72 ; Friedrich Wilhelm Graf: Morality is not a religion: Protestantism, the fall of a German bishop and the loss of distinctions. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, March 4, 2010
  94. ↑ kathisch.de , January 3, 2013: Critique of Käßmann's Luther picture
  95. Evangelisch.de, January 24, 2013: Käßmann counters in the debate about Luther quotes
  96. ^ Sermon by Margot Käßmann on Mark 16: 9-15
  97. ^ Speech of the year 2010: Margot Käßmann: Sermon in the New Year's service of the Dresden Frauenkirche on January 1st, 2010 . University of Tübingen
  98. ^ Margot Käßmann receives prize for moral courage . In: Spiegel Online , February 12, 2011
  99. European Culture Prize: Margot Käßmann refuses the award . In: Spiegel Online , February 15, 2011.
  100. ^ Honorary senator for Margot Käßmann. Press release from October 15, 2014 at the Science Information Service (idw-online.de).
  101. ^ Kerstin Kipp: Margot Käßmann honored with the Estrongo Nachama Prize for moral courage and tolerance. EKD press office, accessed on October 17, 2016 .
  102. Prof. Dr. Margot Käßmann receives the Estrongo Nachama Prize for Civil Courage and Tolerance 2016. In: meridian-stiftung.de. Meridian Foundation, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  103. Susanne Mack: "Of Beauty, Age and Death"; Deutschlandradio Kultur from March 31, 2010
  104. ↑ Number 1 on the Spiegel bestseller list from May 31 to August 8, 2010
  105. ↑ Number 1 on the Spiegel bestseller list from April 4 to 10, 2011
  106. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg6dMieWXS4