30 July 2026
‘Religions–Values–Peace’ exhibition opens at the Neues Kunstmuseum in Tübingen
What holds our society together in times of increasing polarisation? This question was at the heart of the opening of the travelling exhibition ‘Religions – Values – Peace’ on 26 July at the Neues Kunstmuseum in Tübingen.
In front of an audience of around 200 guests, the Benedictine monk and expert on Eastern Churches, Abbot Dr Nikodemus C. Schnabel OSB, gave a talk on the topic ‘Bridges over Abysses: Religions as Spaces of Hope’. Muhterem Aras (Vice-President of the Baden-Württemberg State Parliament), Barbara Traub (spokesperson for the Executive Board of the Jewish Religious Community of Württemberg) and Rafael Rohrhuber (Youth Forum of Religions in Baden-Württemberg, member of the Bahá’í community), spoke about the role that shared values, dialogue and mutual understanding play today. The event was moderated by Esther Saoub, a member of the Executive Board of the Global Ethic Foundation.
Global Ethic and Steve McCurry – two exhibitions that have found each other
Bernhard Feil, Director of the Neues Kunstmuseum Tübingen (NKT), made it possible for Tübingen – Hans Küng’s long-standing place of work – to host the travelling exhibition as its first stop. In his welcoming address, he emphasised that whilst Hans Küng was no longer with us to witness the opening, his legacy was palpable in the exhibition. He was particularly pleased that the panels of the Global Ethic exhibition were being presented alongside Steve McCurry’s work: “His ‘ICONS’ photographs, the quintessence of his great life’s work, essentially present a visualised version of the Global Ethic. Unique photographic art and the fundamental values of peaceful coexistence correspond here as if by themselves in a harmonious interplay,” said Feil.
Revised edition as a collaborative project
In her introduction, Lena Zoller, Managing Director of the Global Ethic Foundation, looked back on the development of the Global Ethic exhibition, which the Foundation has been showing at numerous venues in Germany and abroad since 2000. The newly revised edition expands the exhibition to include panels on religious and ideological diversity in Germany, as well as on the Global Ethic project. The panels on values focus on the unifying potential of religions.
“The exhibition is a collaborative project. The core texts on the religion panels are based on writings by Hans Küng. We have further developed them together with representatives of the respective religious communities. This is in line with our guiding principle: we do not wish to speak about religious people, but rather to let them speak for themselves,” emphasised Zoller.
The aim of the exhibition has remained unchanged: it imparts knowledge about religions and worldviews, highlights their diversity and shared ethical values, and encourages dialogue and interaction. In doing so, it also addresses current societal challenges such as polarisation, disinformation, the climate crisis and religiously motivated prejudices.
The power of reconciliation: religion as a spanning bridge
Under the title ‘Bridges over Abysses: Religions as Spaces of Hope’, Abbot Dr Nikodemus C. Schnabel OSB called for a nuanced view of religion. At the outset, the Abbot of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem expressed his admiration for Steve McCurry’s photographs, which, in his view, powerfully reveal human dignity. He described the Neues Kunstmuseum in Tübingen as a place whose architecture exudes a sacred atmosphere.
At the heart of his lecture was the conviction that all Abrahamic religions place people at the centre. It is true that religions can be misused to create enemy stereotypes, divide societies or legitimise nationalist ideologies. “Whilst sacred texts, with their unfathomable depth, are written in a lyrical style, the ‘hooliganism’ of religions, with its simplistic answers, comes across as intellectually rather undemanding and is an insult to our humanity.” Here, religions are incredibly “helpful” in their toxic capacity to construct an enemy stereotype. “The greatest danger of our time is the ‘phenomenon of national-religion’. When religion allows itself to be seduced by politicians, it is no longer the human being who is sacred, but the state. These are the movements that create chasms. In wars, fellow human beings become enemies; wars dehumanise,” explained Abbot Nikodemus.
Abbot Nikodemus contrasted this with the true potential of religion. Faith, he argued, is only possible through a process of drawing nearer, of seeking, of wrestling with questions. Faith does not mean providing simple answers, but engaging with the complexity of life, with questions, doubts and a willingness to set out anew time and again.
Furthermore, all the great religions are united by the realisation that human beings are not perfect and remain dependent on mercy.
Religions are therefore, above all, spaces of hope and reconciliation. They possess an inherent power of longing; they are experts in both longing and reconciliation. They can help people to free themselves from hatred and ideological indoctrination and to turn their attention to the vulnerable. “The other person matters,” said Abbot Nikodemus, summarising this attitude.
In conclusion, Abbot Nikodemus made it clear why his faith fills him with hope despite all the crises: “The people who give me the most hope are those who are deeply religious. That is why I am happy to be religious.”
A religion possesses a solid foundation and great stability. It is a bridge that is not completely rigid; it remains flexible and can sway.
What unites us – values, dialogue and mutual understanding
Anyone who compares the exhibition title with world events – whether past or present – may well begin to have their doubts: do religions bring peace? Or rather conflict? At the opening, the presenter Esther Saoub asked three guests what unites the different religions: here are excerpts from three answers to three questions.
Question to Barbara Traub: In seeking religious coexistence, I do not wish to ignore the fact that the opposite (namely discrimination against religions, often expressed as Islamophobia or anti-Semitism) is currently on the rise in Germany.
How can people with religious or ethical convictions counter this?
Anti-Semitism is directed not only against the Jewish faith, but against people themselves. Referring to the abbot’s remarks, I would say: we also need communities – communities for mutual protection. There must always be a balance between the collective and the individual. Every religion has a duty to critically examine its own scriptures. In this respect, education is very important. Encounter is important. This is also a challenge for us here in Baden-Württemberg. There are still people who have never had any contact with a Jewish man or woman. Anti-Semitism is thousands of years old and keeps resurfacing. Our society faces a very significant challenge in this regard.
The Golden Rule as a responsibility
Question for Rafael Rohrhuber: The exhibition identifies a Golden Rule as the common denominator among the 15 religions featured. For the Bahá’ís, it is: ‘Do not wish for others what you would not wish for yourselves.’
How can such a rule be put into practice in your work at the Youth Forum?
Places where people can come together are very important in my day-to-day work: as the Youth Forum, we organise events and celebrations, or take part in the Baden-Württemberg Interfaith Round Table or the Federal Congress of Religions. The Youth Forum is a great opportunity to discuss topics such as social media. At the heart of the Golden Rule is genuine listening – ensuring that the other person’s message reaches me. For me, this also entails a sense of responsibility: the impulse to take action and stand up for others.
Democracies need religions
Question for Muhterem Aras: What struck me about the exhibition was this: almost exactly one third of people in Germany describe themselves as atheists or non-believers. Only in China is this proportion of the population even higher.
What role does religion (still?) play in our society?
Even though the figure is very high, I agree entirely with Hartmut Rosa that democracies need religions. If we truly live by these values, this goes back to Article 1 of the Basic Law, to the principle of solidarity and humanity. The foundation of the suspension bridge is very, very important. Ultimately, it is about how we want to shape our coexistence. Politics and religion both bear responsibility: if we work together to promote the concept of the ‘power of longing’ even more widely, so that the focus is even more on the individual, then we would win over more people.
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