Moritz Goethel

Interreligious Understanding Today

Profile

I am currently doing a Master's degree in Philosophy at the Humboldt University as well as studying the Ernst-Ludwig-Ehrlich-Master's programme for Jewish-Christian relations at Free University of Berlin. I moved here after I received my Baccalaureate in Philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a BA in Religious Studies from Potsdam University.

My academic interests are:

• philosophy of religion and philosophical theology, particularity God and time;
• history of philosophy, especially in late 18th and 19th century Germany, represented by authors like Salomon Maimon, Franz von Baader and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling;
• Jewish-Christian interaction, especially the influence and transitions of motives from Jewish to Christian mysticism and theology, as well as the influence of mysticism on philosophy.

I took the course Interreligious Understanding Today at the Woolf Institute because I wanted to study under the supervision of great tutors who undertake their research and teaching at one of world's leading institutes for interreligious understanding. The tutor was exceptional. My questions were always answered very fast and the weekly responses were helpful to rethink one's own presumptions. I also enjoyed the selection of readings.

But also I desired to study with, and from other, highly motivated students who seek knowledge away from their daily workload. Being able to read their work on the weekly tasks brought stimulating aspects into consideration and this creates a good study environment when it brings up new questions which I want to answer through further study:

Does religious tolerance include the right to missionise? How should we define religion? Is it purposeful for reducing prejudice about other religions when we exclude religious language from public debates? Additionally, how far reaching is the potential in mysticism for interreligious dialogue?