Prof. Dr. Marc-Aeilko Aris
Prof. Dr. Marc-Aeilko Aris
About the speaker
Professor Aris is a philosopher and Catholic theologian. He holds the Chair of Medieval Latin Philology at LMU and serves as university chaplain for Munich’s universities at St. Ludwig. His areas of research include the late medieval reform debate and Neoplatonic philosophy in the Middle Ages. His numerous publications focus on Augustine, John Scottus Eriugena, Hugh of St Victor and Nicholas of Cusa. He is Director of the Albertus Magnus Institute in Cologne and a contributor to various editorial projects. He combines, in an uncompromising and critical manner, the questions of the Christian faith that arise in the present day with the answers provided by the Gospels.
The Future of Religion – Does it even have a future, and does it offer one?
Lecture of 13 December 2019
As a Freiburg-based economist recently noted, the future of the Christian churches looks bleak. He predicts that by 2060, the number of church members is expected to have fallen by around half. The outlook for membership figures does not look good. However, what this means for the churches and for the Christian religion itself remains to be seen. Professor Aris will, independently of demographic forecasts, explore the twofold question of whether there is a future for religion and whether religion itself offers a future.