GUILT AND ATONEMENT, Morality, Law, Religion
The ‘Berlin Religious Dialogue’ takes place in the Leibniz Hall of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
Image gallery
Akademie der Wissenschaften
Guilt is one of the fundamental concepts of human self-understanding. It refers to personal failure as a moral transgression, an attributable wrongdoing or a failure of religious significance.
But how do these dimensions relate to one another?
Is one guilty only if one breaks a law – or does guilt begin as soon as people fall short of their responsibilities, however those may be defined? Can punishment atone for guilt, can remorse restore innocence, and can human or divine forgiveness absolve it?
In a present-day world marked by wars, political violence and bitter debates about responsibility, these questions are taking on a new urgency.
Do modern societies still possess sufficiently stable standards by which guilt can be established, atonement made and reconciliation achieved? Where do the limits of the law lie?
What do morality and religion demand, and what are they capable of? And how can a balance be struck between the repetitive rituals of the culture of remembrance and the possibility of a just – rather than merely self-righteous – new beginning?
The philosopher and literary scholar Carsten Dutt and the lawyer, legal philosopher and writer Bernhard Schlink discuss these issues.
In conversation
- Prof. Dr Carsten Dutt, philosopher and literary scholar
- Prof. Dr Bernhard Schlink, lawyer, legal philosopher and writer
Welcome and introductory discussion
- Prof. Dr Dr h.c. mult. Christoph Markschies,
- President of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities Harald Asel,
- Editor at rbb24 Inforadio
Free admission.
Afterwards, the Udo Keller Foundation Forum Humanum invites you to enjoy a glass of wine and engage in informal conversations with the speakers.
The Berlin Religious Dialogues are a joint series of events organised by the Verlag der Weltreligionen, the BBAW and the Udo Keller Foundation Forum Humanum, in collaboration with rbb24 Inforadio. rbb24 Inforadio will record the discussion and broadcast it as a programme lasting just under 60 minutes in the ‘Forum’ series on 25 October 2026 at 11.00 am.
