Page - 12 - in Limina - Grazer theologische Perspektiven, Volume 2:1

12 | www.limina-graz.eu editorial Welcome to the second issue of LIMINA – Theological Perspectives from Graz. The subject of this edition is “New nationalisms and the vision of a shared humanity”. “World peace is necessary. World peace is not the golden age. World peace requires immense moral eff orts on our part.”1 These are the three argu- ments Carl-Friedrich von Weizsäcker set out at the beginning of his speech on the “conditions of peace” at the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 1963. The vision of a peaceful shared humanity shines bright in the Uni- versal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the fundamental documents of diff erent world religions. However, its light is being gradually dimin- ished by the shadows of national separatism and assertion of dominance which are cast far into the heart of the European Union. On a global scale, economic, political and military rivalries between the great powers and other powerful alliances, each pursuing their own interests, are intensify- ing. Religious bodies and theologies – in diff erent capacities and to diff er- ent extents – are also part of these developments, sometimes entangled in them and sometimes in critical opposition to them. This is why this special issue investigates the political, religious and theo- logical options and strategies currently emerging in the force fi eld between new nationalisms on the one side and global humanitarian practices and politics on the other. What does the future hold for liberal democracies and transnational or global-oriented politics in the context of these develop- ments? What solutions do churches, religious communities and theologies pursue in the face of these challenges? From a Christian-theological stand- Translation: Dagmar Astleitner MA PRISM Translations, London 1 https://www.friedenspreis-des- deutschen-buchhandels.de/sixcms/ media.php/1290/1963_v_weizsae- cker.pdf [8.3.2019].