Wolfgang Huber - Ecumenical and Inter-religious Engagement

Ecumenical and Inter-religious Engagement

Huber continuously engages in ecumenical and inter-religious discussions. He was the hosting bishop of the first Ecumenical Church Conference in Berlin in 2003, and during his meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in Cologne in 2005 Huber expressed the wish that ecumenical relations may develop to a phase of “profiled ecumenism”. This position also characterized his reaction to the Vatican’s declaration in 2007 that Protestant churches cannot be regarded as churches in the true sense of the word. The Archbishop of Canterbury invited Huber to address the Nikaean Club of Archbishops in 2009, where Huber identified “ecumenism of the indicative” – namely borne from the conferred unity in Christ, of faith and of baptism – as the basis for all ecumenical relations.

Huber regards religious pluralism as a defining characteristic of contemporary society. He understands the growing influence of Muslim minorities in western Europe (and particularly in his native Germany) as a legitimate example of growing religious pluralism. As chairperson of the EKD Huber campaigned for an open and regular dialogue between Christian and Muslim religious leaders. His insistence on clarity (“Klarheit”) and being good neighbours (“gute Nachbarschaft) – following a document published by the EKD – led to controversies within the EKD and between Protestants and Muslim conversation partners. Especially his warning not to engage in “interreligious cheating” (a formulation which he articulated for the first time in 2001) gave rise to a number of public discussions. A prominent German Muslim organisation reacted to the document published by the EKD by saying that it reinforces and legitimates existing prejudices against Islam. Huber reacted by stating the continued need for honest dialogue – including controversial themes such as freedom of religion and of the change of religion in Muslim countries.