Leaving the Void Open

Among the public occasions that have a civil religious dimension to them, days of national remembrance play an important role. The way a nation's self-understanding is shaped by such events may, however, differ considerably between different countries. Although days of remembrance often bring out the legitimating and integrative function of civil religion, in the case of Germany, public remembrance is normally accompanied by a certain wariness as far as patriotism and national symbols are concerned. In Great Britain, for example, Remembrance Day, celebrated on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, when the guns fell silent after World War I, is seen as a patriotic event, somber but not without a certain grandeur, which involves not only a service but also a military parade and the participation of veterans. In contrast, in Germany, the day of national mourning for the dead of the wars (Volkstrauertag), celebrated on the second to last Sunday of the church year, has quite a different outer appearance. Instead of a carefully choreographed parade, the gatherings around local war memorials seem more haphazard. Accompanied by solemn tunes of the men's choir, they are normally led by the local pastor or priest and a representative of the local government. In former years, speeches used to focus on the sacrifice of those who died for their country;1 but in recent years, the victims of the two world wars are commemorated—the soldiers, the population, and those persecuted alike. Attendance is dwindling, with less and less members of the war generation surviving; people seem to find it harder to relate to a commemoration that apparently has no bearing on their personal lives.

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• Understanding Neighbourhoods as Multifaith Spaces

  Open Access•Murray Prideaux•Religions•2019

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