Apologia wiary i religii w debacie między Jürgenem Habermasem a Józefem Ratzingerem

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the role of religion and religious beliefs to modem society and man in the light of the discussion that took place between Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Professor Jürgen Habermas on 19 January 2004. In the title the word apologia is used, which means the speech in defense of a case. Strictly speaking, in the words of the two debaters there are no typical elements of speech in the own defense. However, we can find different ways of arguments and justification areas, showing why faith and religion in the modem world not only have a raison d’être, but there are indeed desirable. The analysis is dedicated therefore to a particular debate, which took place in a specific space, time and context. The first part will outline the general background and context of discussion. In the next steps the main theses will be presented structured around different areas of issues.