Tradition in Bewegung. Wie der jüdisch-christliche Dialog unseren Blick auf Tradition verändert

How dynamic is church tradition? How can changes in tradition be described? What are the (ecclesiastical) political implications of different concepts of tradition, and is it still socially relevant? With the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the Catholic Church significantly changed its attitude towards society and other religions. In particular, the relationship with Judaism, which for centuries had been characterized by a theologically based anti-Judaism, underwent a positive turn with the declaration Nostra aetate . The interpretation of the Council, however, is controversial. What can help to perceive the mobility of church tradition?

The Theological Research Centre of the University of Erfurt invites Dr. Elisabeth Höftberger from Paris Lodron University Salzburg to address these questions. Höftberger is a postdoctoral researcher at the European Graduate School on Theology in Religious, Cultural and Political Processes of Transformation (Salzburg | Erfurt | Leuven). Her doctorate was awarded the highest distinction for academic achievement ("sub auspiciis") by the Austrian Federal President last month. In the context of her guest lecture on April 20 in Erfurt, she will present a dialogue-sensitive hermeneutics of tradition and reception theory reflected in cultural studies. These not only enable a scientifically theoretical and methodologically new view of tradition, but also provide concrete impulses for theological research and practice in teaching, parishes and schools.