Contribution short abstract:

An activist reports on the mediation process in a christian parish, where a young man changed the discourse (and practice!) by reminding all of them on taking altruism seriously. In the case of "church asylum", the Christian morality is demanding rule-breaking activities of the parishioners.

Contribution long abstract:

Religions are not static. They depend on legal and cultural contexts and on the historical constellations of power and tradition. Their metaphors, symbols and styles are embedded in larger structural settings. Simultaneously, their representations are an expression of the conditioning contexts. I am interested in the cultural work, in the everyday practices of (religious) people, which conforms and confronts these settings. Believers constantly have to negotiate their convictions and actions - e.g. by asking themselves: "What would be right to do considering being a good christian/muslim/jew etc.?"

Besides these moments of justifying one's decisions towards a transcendent being, religious people are also part of a community and have to discuss questions of morality with each other. Situations like the refugee movement to Germany in 2015/16 challenged their positions, their actions and the discussions among them. I would like to analyse one of these negotiation processes by focusing on an example of church asylum in Germany (which implies a helping system for refugees, who are threatened by deportation). The story is reported by an affiliate of an independent christian association, supporting parishes in the process of becoming a refugee shelter.

I would like to consider the narratives and moralities that lead ordinary churchgoers to doubt state decisions and even stand up against police order. This affects the question of different rules in different spheres. I want to discuss to what extent these activities could change the wider society and if these transgressions could be understood as rule-breaking in multiple respects.