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"We're Much Better off Today Than We Were 10 Years Ago"

A conversation about the Secular Bus Campaign, old successes and new challenges

The Secular Bus Campaign travelled through Germany for almost four weeks to promote the separation of state and church and the constitutional imperative of the worldview neutral state. The tour was accompanied by a considerable organizational and financial investment. Was the effort worth it? The Humanistic Press Service (hpd) spoke with Michael Schmidt-Salomon, who travelled the entire route with the Secular Bus Campaign

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"Germany is a Democratic, Social and Worldview Neutral Federal State"

Giordano Bruno Stiftung calls for extension of Article 20 of the German Basic Law

The Federal Constitutional Court already pointed out in the 1960s that the state can only be a "home of all citizens" if it adheres to the principle of worldview neutrality. The Giordano Bruno Stiftung therefore calls for a corresponding clarification in Article 20 of the German Basic Law. In the future, the article must not only mention the principles of democracy, the welfare state, and federalism, but also the principle of the worldview neutrality of the state.

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Farewell to the Church Republic

The tour through Germany of the Secular Bus Campaign has begun

The Giordano Bruno Stiftung presented its central campaign brochure "Abschied von der Kirchenrepublik: 100 Jahre Verfassungsbruch sind genug" ("Farewell to the Church Republic: 100 Years of Constitutional Breach are Enough") at the first press conference of the Secular Bus Campaign in Berlin today, Saturday. It features fundamental political demands that must be implemented in order to realize the constitutional imperative of the worlview neutral state.

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Ceremony "70 Years Basic Law" in Karlsruhe

ifw's celebration of the constitution on May 22 focuses on the bright and dark sides of the German legal system

With the Basic Law, which came into force in 1949, essential elements of the UN Declaration of Human Rights adopted one year earlier were incorporated into the German constitution. 70 years of Basic Law are therefore a good reason to celebrate this milestone in German history. At the same time they provide an opportunity to reflect critically on the question of whether the constitutional text is a constitutional reality. For this reason, the ceremony of the Institut für Weltanschauungsrecht (ifw - Institute for Secular Law) on May 22 will not only focus on the bright sides of the German legal system, but also on its dark sides.

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How Rational and Evidence-Based is German Politics?

Discussion on the launch of the bus campaign and the "March for Science" on May 4 in Berlin

Bus campaign meets March for Science: On May 4 the Secular Bus Campaign starts in Berlin, which protests against the failure to comply with the constitutional requirement of separation of church and state under the motto "Schlussmachen jetzt!". Since this 4th of May is also the day of the international "March for Science", which calls for a stronger consideration of scientific findings, a high-profile panel discussion in the Urania Berlin brings the concerns of both initiatives to a common ground.

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"The Bus Campaign Comes Just in Time!"

The discontent about the "Church Republic of Germany" is growing

Why do Germans have to travel to Switzerland to die self-determined? Why do unintentionally pregnant women have to undergo compulsory counselling? Why are physicians like Kristina Hänel being criminalized? Why does the German state grant the churches more than 500 million euros a year and why is it forbidden to dance on Good Friday? The discontent about religious patronizing in the "Church Republic of Germany" is growing – no wonder that the anticipation of the secular bus campaign "Schlussmachen jetzt!" is big.

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An Assistant to the Dying Who Loved Life

Obituary for Uwe-Christian Arnold

Uwe-Christian Arnold 2015 bei der Aktion "Lassen Sie das doch den Klempner machen!" vor der Frankfurter Paulskirche

He would have been so happy to participate in the oral hearing of the Federal Constitutional Court on § 217 StGB in the coming week, but his cancer was too far advanced: Yesterday, Friday, Uwe-Christian Arnold, "Germany's best-known suicide assistant", died in his apartment in Berlin. On the evening before his death he issued his statement for the Federal Constitutional Court, his political legacy. An obituary by Michael Schmidt-Salomon.

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Deutsche Bahn Bans Advertising for Secular Bus Campaign

A question of neutrality

Deutsche Bahn has banned large posters to advertize the "Secular Bus Campaign" that will start at the beginning of May in Berlin's railway stations. Reason: "lack of neutrality". While this assessment is correct - though it does not apply to the poster series, which explicitly promotes the neutrality of the state, instead it applies to Deutsche Bahn AG, which stands partial on the side of the churches.

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"Papal State? No, Thanks!"

The "Secular Bus Campaign 2019" starts on May 4

10 years ago, the "Secular Bus Campaign" had the motto "Happy without God". The message that a meaningful life does not need a God is nowadays established in society, but political conditions have changed little. For this reason the "Bus Campaign 2019" starting in May calls for the abolition of all state regulations that discriminate against nonreligious people.

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