News Archive

Saving the Little Piglet [2]

Ten years ago it was "legally" confirmed that children are allowed to laugh about religion

2018/03/06

Gunnar Schedel (Alibri Verlag), Herbert Steffen (Gründer der Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung), Helge Nyncke (Illustrator) und Michael Schmidt-Salomon (Autor) feiern 2008 die erfolgreiche Rettung des kleinen Ferkels.

On March 6, 2008, the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons decided on the application of the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs to put the religion-critical children's book "Wo bitte geht's zu Gott? fragte das kleine Ferkel" ("Which is the way to God, please?, asked the little piglet") on the "Index for Media Harmful to Young Persons". If the ministerial proposal had been successful, the "little piglet" would have been remembered as probably the first "R-rated children's book" in history. On occasion of the 10th anniversary of the "piglet rescue", Alibri Verlag published a book documenting the "great dispute on the little piglet".

"It's Time to Revise the Legislation on Abortions!" [3]

The deletion of §219a of the German Criminal Code should only be the first step of a comprehensive legal reform

2018/02/21

This Thursday, the German parliament will debate the abolition of the criminal offence known as "advertising for abortion" (§ 219a StGB). The Giordano Bruno Stiftung would much appreciate, "if this old clause from the Nazi era were to fall," says gbs spokesman Michael Schmidt-Salomon. "But this deletion alone would not eliminate the ideological imbalance in the legislation. Unfortunately, the laws on abortion in their entirety are neither rational nor evidence-based nor ideologically neutral. It is time to revise them fundamentally."

Internationalization of the Evokids Project Progresses [4]

Translations of the educational material in all EU languages can now be requested

2018/01/30

The Evokids educational material for teaching evolution in primary schools has been admitted to the "Scientix" programme of the European Commission. Teachers can now request translations of the teaching material into all European languages without charge. "This brings us one step closer to the ambitious goal of establishing the teaching of evolution not only at German but also at international schools," say the heads of the Evokids project Dittmar Graf (Institute for Didactics of Biology in Giessen) and Michael Schmidt-Salomon (Giordano Bruno Stiftung).

Help for Secular Refugees [5]

A newly founded association supports fugitive ex-Muslims in Germany

2017/11/20

"I felt like I never left Saudi Arabia". With these words, ex-Muslim Rana Ahmad characterized her situation in the Cologne refugee camp where she had been accommodated after her escape from Saudi Arabia. The special problems of ex-Muslims, who fled from political Islam to Germany and have to live with strictly religious Muslims in refugee camps, are still being ignored. In order to address this problem, the association "Atheist Refugee Relief" was founded in Cologne, which was presented to the public last Friday at the international ceremony "10 Years of Ex-Muslims".

"We Must Resolve the Ideological Imbalance in our Legal System!" [6]

Institut für Weltanschauungsrecht advocates neutrality of the state

2017/09/04

As early as 1965, the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the Basic Law obliges the state as the "home of all citizens" to "philosophical and religious neutrality". In practice, however, this legal principle is frequently violated. The "Institut für Weltanschauungsrecht" (ifw - Institute for Secular Law) seeks to counteract this deficiency.

The Great Harari Confusion [7]

Were the Nazis actually "humanists"?

2017/08/01

Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari published international bestsellers such as "A Brief History of Humankind" and "Homo Deus". Tragically, he made some hair-raising mistakes in his analysis, which cannot go unchallenged. A commentary by Michael Schmidt-Salomon.

A Master of Intellectual Integrity [8]

Giordano Bruno Stiftung mourns the loss of its adviser Prof. Dr. Bernulf Kanitscheider

2017/07/07

He was one of the leading thinkers of naturalism and enlightened hedonism. Only now it became known that the philosopher Bernulf Kanitscheider died on June 21 at the age of 77. A euology by Michael Schmidt-Salomon.

The Naked Luther [9]

Action art for the Protestant Church Congress exposes the reformer's dark sides

2017/05/22

One day before the beginning of the Protestant Church Day 2017, the Giordano Bruno Stiftung (gbs) unveiled its action art "Die nackte Wahrheit über Martin Luther" ("The Naked Truth About Martin Luther") on Tuesday afternoon in Berlin. The sculpture, over four metres high, shows a naked Luther figure with an open coat. The inside of the coat depicts a quotation by philosopher Karl Jaspers: "Luther's advice against the Jews was precisely executed by Hitler". On the back you can read the reformer's anti-Semitic advice, including burning down synagogues, expropriation, and forced labour for Jews. The mobile sculpture "Der nackte Luther" will be on display at the Kirchentag in Berlin, Leipzig, and Wittenberg in the next few days, pointing to the dark sides of the reformer, which are all too often covered by a cloak of silence.

Martin Luther: People's Hero – Anti-Semite – Hate Preacher [10]

Giordano Bruno Stiftung publishes critical brochure for the Luther Year

2017/05/03

The public sector spends around 250 million euro from general taxpayers' money on the "Luther Decade". The 500th anniversary of his alleged "posting of the theses" is even to be celebrated as a national holiday. But was Martin Luther a man to be celebrated? No, says the Giordano Bruno Stiftung, which in its now published critical Luther brochure shows that the reformer was one of the "most powerful representatives of the hatred of Jews from Golgotha to Auschwitz".

March for Science [11]

Nationwide demonstrations on 22 April 2017

2017/04/10

Those who deny scientific facts undermine the foundations of rational debate. This is why the political trend towards "alternative facts" and "postfactual arguments", which can now be observed from Moscow to Washington, affects not only scientists, but society as a whole. For this reason, many thousands of people worldwide will gather on the streets on 22 April to demonstrate for increased attention to scientific findings. The Giordano Bruno Stiftung (gbs) supports the German "Marsch für die Wissenschaft" (which will take place in 19 cities at the same time) not only in terms of ideas, but also financially.

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