When dealing with the meaning of the church, theology and religion for society, the central interest of these questions has focused particularly in recent years on competent ethical questioning. However, it often remainsunclear whether this particular link between religion and ethics is consistent with the self-conception of Protestant theology and Protestant faith. This essay aims to provide some clarification on this question. After introductory reflections on the new social interest in religion, an exegesis of the Sermon on the Mount serves to elucidate a distinction between religion and ethics. In light of God´s omnipotence, human potentialreceives a (salutary) relativization. This perspective makes the instructions of this sermon of sermons´ (Friedrich Dürrenmatt) appear as a liberating word, which calls human beings to actively bear witness to God´skindness to us by trusting in God´s Power in the here and now. When appliedto present ethico-orientational questions, this differentiated view of the relation between religion and ethics leads to a particular procedure in ethical conflicts: one has to first separate questions of one´s life from questions of faith. Then, after certain reflection, these two trajectories of questions can once again be brought together to reveal a comprehensible Christian ethos for society´s orientational process.

---

---

Personen: Anselm, Reiner Feldmeier, Reinhard

Schlagwörter: Bergpredigt Ethik Religion Evangelische Theologie