Prof. Dr. Ansgar Hense

In a conversation with Prof. Dr. Annette Edenhofer, Prof. Hense discussed, among other things, the principle of neutrality and current developments in (state) church law— including the example of religious education (in Berlin).

The death of scholar Hans Maier (1931–2026) has also deeply affected the Institute for State Churc Law. Hans Maier was one of the Institute’s co-founders and had served on its Scientific Advisory Board ever since. With his passing, we have lost a “scholar of the old school” — in the very best sense of the term — who was a man of great kindness. Endowed with natural authority, he offered wise and nuanced counsel. Every conversation with him opened up the breadth of overarching contexts while keeping the concrete details in view. We will greatly miss his friendly, attentive manner and his human and scholarly wisdom. We are deeply grateful to him! R.I.P.

The Institute for State Church Law attended the conference “Religiously Neutral or Church-Affiliated? Future Issues in Constitutional Religious Law” — organized by Stephan Rixen and Stefan Muckel — in Cologne. The event covered a wide range of current topics in constitutional religious law, from corporate status and the seal of confession to church labor law. In addition to highly engaging presentations, the event offered ample opportunities for personal exchange. Many thanks to the two institutes at the University of Cologne for the successful organization!