A Change of Mind. West-Eastern Church Experiences

Ever since they moved to the East as a result of unification, people have been talking about a completely new experience of church and community and the relationship of these East German communities to the public. These experiences are to be examined exemplarily and empirically in the form of targeted interviews. Hypothetically it can be assumed that western and eastern church experiences are shaped differently. This is connected with socialization and origin, but also with the concrete social, church and political tasks for Catholics in the new federal states. Processes of integration in church structures of the central and eastern German dioceses, which are shaped by the diaspora, are to be examined. Do synergies emerge which are fed by different coinages and challenges? Can potentials be used which are given due to different resources?

The interviews will be presented in excerpts on listening stations (Katholikentag in Leipzig) and then scientifically evaluated.