»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.

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].

For the first time in German history, non-denominational individuals make up 46 percent of the population, equaling the combined share of Catholics and Protestants (24 and 22 percent, respectively). Meanwhile, only 5 percent of the population regularly attends a church, synagogue, or mosque. These findings are based on data released today by the "Research Group on Worldviews in Germany" (Forschungsgruppe Weltanschauungen in Deutschland, fowid).

Following the fatal knife attack in Mannheim, calls for tougher state action against Islamists are growing louder. This reaction comes rather late, says Michael Schmidt-Salomon, chair of the Giordano Bruno Foundation: "For many years now, not only ex-Muslims and critics of Islam have faced severe threats, but also advocates of an open-minded Islam like Seyran Ateş, whose liberal mosque became a target of ISIS."