Intercultural theology, as practiced at the IWM, understands the plurality of human cultures not as a deficit, but as an expression of the richness of God’s manifold ways of communicating himself to mankind.

 

It sees intercultural and interreligious dialog as an indispensable means of mutual enrichment and correction as well as an excellent way to do justice to the richness of God’s revelation in human history. She understands contextuality as a constitutive characteristic of every form of theology and faith, without abandoning the claims of universality and truth.

Central themes of IT are the relationship between the Gospel and culture, theological hermeneutics, cultural theory, universality and contextuality, dialogue between religions, the structure and dynamics of in(ter)culturalization processes and intercultural and interreligious conflicts, theories of the foreign, the construction of cultural identities, phenomena of translation, fundamentalism, intercultural and interreligious hospitality, globalization and (post-)secularization processes, post- and neo-colonialism, etc.

The IWM does not practice intercultural and interreligious dialog as an end in itself, but with a clear ethical theologically normative objective. The ultimate horizon is to contribute to greater peace and justice and to the preservation of creation by promoting understanding between cultures, religions and peoples, thereby contributing to the building of the Kingdom of God. Within the prevailing economized view of the global community, it attempts to credibly testify to an alternative vision of the human family.

In the age of digitalization and rapidly advancing technological progress, IT at the Institute for Global Church and Mission is currently focusing on forms of digital faith communication.

 

With this focus on digitality, IT seeks to contribute, across geographical boundaries, to answering the question of how digital communication of faith is transforming religious landscapes and how (church) communities understand and form themselves at the intersection of digital and analog spaces.

 

To adequately address the diversity of digital spaces as sites of cultural production, IT draws inspiration from current social events and dynamics (online). In doing so, it reflects on the significance of digital spaces as cultural sites and sites of theological production across territorial boundaries.

 

The goal is to contribute to fostering understanding between (digital) cultural spaces, religions, and communities.