Sprung in den Staub

In light of a persistent church crisis and the ecclesiastical alienation of many people in the current processes of secularization, Wolfgang Beck explores the possibilities of a Christian existence in the 21st century. He finds this in a willingness to embrace the complexity of late modernity: where individuals no longer clearly identify with a tradition, denomination, or church and develop hybrid faith identities, there is a need for a church that selflessly offers itself as a resource without resentment. Where this succeeds, church life can be put to the service of all people: life-affirming, radically supportive, without concern for its own institutional survival. The author emphasizes that religious communication is crucial for this, as it understands itself as a relational offer for people and strives, alongside other societal players, to constructively shape the common good.