1. What are the most burning issues you are facing regarding the role of the churches in your society?

I will illustrate one burning issue out of many by pasting below an article from “Church News from Denmark”. The article relates to the public debate on the role of and reason for faith-based institutions in society and hence to the debate on religion as a private matter or as a legitimate element in society at large – a debate which is not particular to Denmark, but relevant to many European societies.

The following text is taken from “Church News from Denmark”, published six times a year by the Council on International relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark.

 The future of faith-based kindergartens brought to the test                                         

 After months of uncertainty the Catholic kindergarten of St Josef in Roskilde can draw a breath of relief as an unanimous city council on June 25 decided not to withdraw financial support from the institution. It was St Josef’s wish to make changes to their statutes so that the Christian foundation became clearer that initially sparked resistance from a majority in the city council. St Josef is one of many value-based kindergartens that enjoy a public mandate and public funding. So do almost 200 kindergartens associated to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. However, parents in Denmark are allocated a place in the publicly funded kindergartens – faith based or not – according to their place on the waiting list, which is one of the critics’ main points:”We do not wish that parents on the public waiting list to day-care institutions are given a place in a kindergarten where they risk getting religion shoved down their throats”, says head of the Committee for School and Children in the city of Roskilde, Henrik Stougaard to the Christian Daily.

 However, value-based institutions of care have existed in Denmark for over 100 years and enjoyed a public mandate and funding for decades. They must conform to the same demands as publicly run institutions to “offer children co-decision, co-responsibility and understanding of democracy”, as it is worded in the law on day-care offers. Faith-based kindergartens have to carefully consider how they can maintain a value-base and not be missionary in their approach. “We do not support preaching (in our institutions, ed.) … but we support that religion is no taboo; there must be room for children to put forth questions of existential character as well,” says Charlotte Biel, General Secretary of the Organisation for Kindergartens associated to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark.[i]

2. How can the fellowship of member churches support the churches in the situation you are facing?

I wonder if the WCC Europe Desk would be able to facilitate a global debate with member churches on the role of religion in society. Post 9/11 European societies have experienced a growing distrust against public religious expressions and a strong impetus towards total separation of church and society (i.e. the idea of religion as a fully inward or private matter) has emerged within a number of secular national governments – nationally and locally (as in the example above).

Europe is – I believe - different from most other parts of the world on these matters and a WCC global debate must take as its starting point the particular situation of Europe, taking into consideration the particular history of the continent. However, at the same time it must be looking at the situation in member churches and their contexts in other parts of the world, addressing the questions: What is a healthy relationship between Church and society? How can Christians (and other religious communities) express their faith in a constructive and legitimate manner in their respective societies through Christian institutions and political engagement? Can European Churches learn from non-European contexts?

3. In which regard and how can your experience enrich and be of relevance to the fellowship?

At the same time it is important for the wider WCC community of Churches to know and better understand the situation in Denmark and other European Churches. Why is there resistance towards Christian and other religious institutions among some Governments? What is the historical and ideological background for the European situation today?

On behalf of WCC CC member Rev. Dean Anders B. Gadegaard

Dr. Jorgen Skov Sorensen

General Secretary

Council on International Relations of the ELCD

[i] http://www.interchurch.dk/cn/cn.php?key=2118