Constellations of the Relation of Religious Minorities and Majorities in Plural Societies

该网络调查宗教少数群体和宗教多数群体如何在话语中相互构成，即他们如何理解自己以及社会其他部分如何看待和对待他们。该网络的重点是宗教机构、网络和运动，其首要目标是确定宗教少数群体-多数群体，不仅揭示他们如何看待自己与社会多数群体的区别，而且如何看待自己与其他宗教少数群体或多数群体的区别或联系。该网络成员的基本工作假设是，少数群体和多数群体最有可能将自己理解为或被他人贴上宗教标签，以避免基于种族、政治、社会经济或其他特征的标签，并掩盖某些不同的利益。第二个目标是了解对MMC及其宗教，社会和政治地位的看法的后果。例如，政治和社会辩论往往将单一文化的国家-无论是犹太教-基督教还是世俗的-描绘为规范。试图维护或恢复这种所谓的规范性国家，导致与其他宗教和文化身份划清界限。在这方面，多文化社会的概念是一种给予少数群体过多关注或不成比例地要求平等权利的观点。在媒体和政治话语中，人们越来越多地根据他们（所谓的）宗教归属（“穆斯林”、“犹太人”）被分类。日常生活和公共机构的各个方面都被宣布为树立宗教意义象征的地方（见巴伐利亚的十字架辩论）。宗教间对话被认为是和平共处的解决办法。德国人正在谈判如何处理少数民族的宗教身份，特别是在学校、政府机构甚至国家教堂等机构。该网络寻求扩大目前的研究状况，目前的研究往往只侧重于宗教少数群体本身。研究还没有解决如何MMC出现在不同的社会形态，他们可以如何识别，他们是如何相互依赖，以及什么后果的结果从话语划界。该网络的工作成果将在讲习班和会议上介绍，并在其网站和研究出版物上供讨论。

The Network investigates how religious minorities and majorities constitute each other discursively, i.e. how they understand themselves and how they are perceived and addressed as such by other parts of society. With its focus on religious institutions, networks, and movements, the Network's first goal is to identify religious minority-majority constellations (MMCs) and reveal not only how they see themselves as distinct from the majority of society, but also as distinct from or connected to other religious minorities or majorities. The underlying working hypothesis of the Network's members is that minorities and majorities are most likely to understand themselves or be labeled by others as religious as a way to avoid labels based on ethnic, political, socio-economic, or other traits and conceal certain differing interests. The second goal is to understand the consequences for the perception of MMCs and their religious, social, and political status. For example, political and social debates often portray a monocultural nation, either Judeo-Christian or secular, as the norm. Attempts to preserve or restore this allegedly normative state result in boundaries being drawn against other religious and cultural identities. In this context, the idea of a multicultural society is a perspective that gives minorities too much attention or a disproportionate claim to equal rights. People are increasingly being classified in media and political discourse on the basis of their (supposed) religious affiliation ("the Muslims", "the Jews"). Aspects of everyday life and public institutions are being declared as places to erect religiously significant symbols (see the crucifix debate in Bavaria). And interreligious dialogue is postulated as a solution for peaceful coexistence. Germans are negotiating how to handle minority religious identities, especially in institutions such as schools, government agencies, and even the state churches. The Network seeks to expand the current state of research, which often focuses only on religious minorities as such. Research has yet to address how MMCs arise in differing social formations, how they can be identified, how they are mutually dependent, and what consequences result from discursive demarcations. The results of the Network's work will be presented in workshops and at conferences as well as for discussion on its own website and in research publications.