Our meeting today with Prof. Heribert Hirte covered a broad range of topics. We spoke about the necessity of, and the scope for, filling the anniversary celebrations marking 70 years of the Grundgesetz (Germany’s Basic Law) with life. A “gut feeling for the value of the free democratic basic order” is an ideal protection against radical ideas. Prof. Hirte is the chairman of the Stephanuskreis. The Stephanuskreis is a cross-denominational discussion forum of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag which champions tolerance and religious freedom and concerns itself with the situation of persecuted Christians around the world. Accordingly, the particular relationship between state and religion in Germany, as governed by the Basic Law, is especially close to the heart of this legal scholar: it is open to religion and distinguishes Germany from other states that are secular or laicist by constitution. In this spirit we shall continue our joint exchange.
