Enlightenment in the 21st century
The Giordano Bruno Stiftung stands for the values of humanism and enlightenment, and protests whenever blatant infringements of these occur. During the controversy surrounding cartoons of Mohammed, the foundation started a widely noted campaign for the protection of free speech and artistic expression, something which must not be allowed to fall victim to religious fundamentalism.
Human rights must apply universally; they do not differ from one culture to the next. Unfortunately, Muslim abuses of human rights have long been subject to “false tolerance”. In order to avoid accusations of xenophobia, many progressive thinkers have shied away from criticizing religiously legitimized violence in the Muslim community. The founding of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims and its “We have forsworn” campaign, both of which received substantial support from the gbs, have led to a change in the situation.
Those who support humanism and enlightenment are concerned not only with values, but also with knowledge. Sadly, many people still see the world in a way which, in light of modern scientific advances, can only be compared with the ancient belief that the world was flat. The Giordano Bruno Stiftung has therefore made it one of its goals to promote the dissemination and acceptance of scientific knowledge.
There are now more people in Germany with no religious affiliation than there are Catholics or Protestants. However, they do not receive the recognition they deserve either in politics or in the media. The Giordano Bruno Stiftung is attempting to rectify this deficiency. It played a leading role in the foundation of the “Co-ordinating Council of Secular Organizations” (KORSO: Koordinierungsrat säkularer Organisationen), which will represent the many millions of people who do not belong to a religious denomination.
The enlightenment movement is rarely short of good arguments, but is in need of some good PR. Especially in the media-driven society we live in, it’s not enough just to have good arguments; they have to be communicated effectively to people. Provocation is an essential part of promoting enlightenment; it comes from “pro-vocare”, to call forth or challenge, and that is exactly what we wish to do. If we want to push society forward, we must not be afraid of being called “pushy”.
The Giordano Bruno Stiftung awards two prizes worth €10,000: the "Deschner Prize” for outstanding achievements relating to the criticism of religion and ideology, and the "Ethics Prize of the Giordano Bruno Stiftung” for developing positive alternatives in the sense of evolutionary humanism.
The Giordano Bruno Stiftung (gbs) was officially recognized as a "legally responsible public foundation according to civil law", on April 15 2004. Since then, the gbs has accomplished a great deal in terms of establishing the central themes of humanism and enlightenment in society. This “chronology of the most important events” should help understand the foundation’s development.