Enlightenment in the 21st century
The Giordano Bruno Stiftung (gbs) is a think tank for humanism and enlightenment that has been joined by many renowned scientists, philosophers and artists. The foundation is currently backed by more than 10,000 supporting members and 50 regional and university groups.
The foundation's goal is to develop a viable humanistic, rational and evidence-based alternative to the traditional religions and to help it become established in society. This objective is based on the insight that we cannot face the complex challenges of the 21st century using the religious paradigms of the past. (Read more)
425 Years Ago, Giordano Bruno was Burned at the Stake
He was the »freest of all freethinkers,« writes historian Volker Reinhardt in his widely acclaimed 2024 biography of Bruno, an »intellectual anarchist and nightmare of all guardians of orthodoxy.« Exactly 425 years ago today, on February 17, 1600, Giordano Bruno, who considered the universe »infinite« and religious dogmas »asinine,« was burned at the stake as a »stubborn heretic.«
High-Profile Working Group Calls for New Islam, Integration, and Migration Policy
»German Islam policy has largely failed, as it has hindered integration and strengthened extremists,« say Lale Akgün (SPD) and Ali Ertan Toprak (CDU). With the high-profile »Working Group Political Islam« (AK Polis), which went public today for the first time, they are calling, among other things, for the dissolution of the »German Islam Conference.«
The film commemorating the 10th anniversary of the attack on »Charlie Hebdo« highlights the fatal effects of religious censorship
»If you fear that religion-critical drawings could tempt you to blow up or, even worse, to blow others up, stop this video immediately!« This is the trigger warning for the »Free Charlie!« film, which was released today on the 10th anniversary of the attack on »Charlie Hebdo« on the YouTube channel of the Giordano Bruno Foundation. It is a determined call not to be intimidated by fundamentalists.
With its focus theme for 2025, the Giordano Bruno Foundation takes a stand against the »coercions of the collective«
»You are not your group – and your group does not represent humanity!« This is one of the core statements of the focus theme »My Mind Belongs to Me!«, with which the Giordano Bruno Foundation aims to counter the »identity politics« of our time. The foundation is not least concerned with defending the open society, which is increasingly under pressure from identitarian forces.
Is Humanity Living Up to Its Global Responsibility?
In 2024, the Giordano Bruno Foundation focused on the central theme "Humanity in the Anthropocene," emphasizing that there is only this ONE humanity, which must shape this ONE biosphere on its home planet responsibly. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as Donald Trump's renewed triumph in the USA, suggest that humanity may be failing in this global challenge. However, 2024 also saw glimmers of hope pointing in a more progressive direction.
Trump's Victory Strengthens the "International of Nationalists"
It has happened as many feared: Donald Trump is moving back into the White House! The reasons for his electoral success remain the same as during his first campaign in 2016. This becomes clear from the following excerpts from the article "The Open Society is at Stake," which gbs spokesperson Michael Schmidt-Salomon wrote in early 2017 for the Piper volume "We Have the Choice" [current additions are marked by square brackets].
