Dominican defends naked nuns, a frog on a cross and the drag queens' reenactment of the Last Supper

Vienna Festival Opens Three-Day "Tribunal of Faith"

Jury to Hear Cases of Blasphemy, Cultural Appropriation, and Religious Fundamentalism This Weekend - Criticism of Peter Thiel and His Invitation to the Festival Continues to Spark Controversy

The Vienna Festival opened Milo Rau's three-day theatrical documentary format "The Tribunal of Faith" with an opening session on Friday at the Odeon Theater. Until Sunday, a jury of experts will examine three cases concerning the artistic, institutional, and political appropriation of religion, as well as the misuse of religious practices, symbols, and systems of thought. Under the title "Holy Shitstorm," the boundaries between blasphemy and artistic freedom will be explored on Saturday, while "Stolen Goddesses" will address the culture of appropriation. Fundamentalist theocracies will be the focus on Sunday under the title "Bad Religion." The final decision will be announced in a concluding session.

On Friday, speeches by bestselling author Alice Hasters ("What White People Don't Want to Hear About Racism But Should Know"), BrotherXaver Propach, philosopher and Dominican friar from Vienna, Gerard Biard, editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo, and Frankfurt lawyer Michel Friedman set the stage for the diverse range of topics to be discussed over the weekend.

Under police protection

The panelists, it was stated, are individuals who have "suffered severe trauma in the name of religion" and can only appear under police protection. Naturally, a three-day theatrical format cannot do justice to all the topics and the individuals involved. But it's more than just a spectacle that "serves the attention economy; it aims to shed light on the abuse of religion by political actors," Kaleck announced. Key questions will include: Should the blasphemy law be abolished? How far does artistic freedom extend? Should stolen works of art be returned?

Burning topics will include the victims of the clerical regime in Iran and the case of Peter Thiel, who, following the invitation extended to the Vienna Festival, is now questioning the festival's own policies. The tech industry, Kaleck argues, is one of the most important tools for maintaining power for the Trump administration, which is significantly financed by Thiel. Religion is being weaponized there. He, too, rejects Thiel's invitation to the festival. Such people should not be given a platform in Vienna, he asserted, addressing his criticism to Milo Rau, who had previously declared: "Fascist virtues, stigmatization, and the persecution of dissenters have no place here. The Free Republic practices the virtues of generosity, tolerance, and simple curiosity."

"Where does the playing field of art end?"

Contrary to predictions, religion is currently omnipresent—intertwined with popular culture, economics, and economic, media, and state power, Rau explained in his opening address. The awareness of living in an end time unites all current schools of thought, from left to right, from the Last Generation to the tech bros, in their desire for a (political) theology. "Now that our leaders compare themselves to Jesus and speak to us in the language of the Bible or the Quran, we are returning to the empty temples as if to a better past.

Among other things, the following will be discussed at the Faith Tribunal: "Where does freedom of opinion end, where does the playing field of art end?" And where does the realm of faith begin?” In the coming days, the focus will be on examining the inherent conflict – “as a cruel, sometimes absurd spectacle of scandals, oppression, violence, but also of beauty and the emergence of a new community, a new way of relating to humanity,” said Rau.

Blasphemy

There was already agreement on the so-called blasphemy law, which concerns the “denigration of religious teachings.” Wolfgang Kaleck, human rights lawyer and head of the tribunal, summarized it this way: “Political tyrants have made blasphemy a crime.” Biard, a staunch advocate of secularism, explained that it is absurd to see blasphemy as an attack on faith as a whole, because it does not attack the faith of individual believers, but rather the public images of God held by political tyrants. Blasphemy thus becomes the ultimate crime for them. With it, they justify the persecution, torture, and killing of people. “If faith can move mountains, then they are mountains of…” Corpses.

Outrage over naked nuns at the Vienna Festival, a frog on a cross in a recent exhibition at the Vienna Künstlerhaus, or the drag queens' reenactment of the Last Supper at the Olympic Games "does not offend my religious sensibilities," explained Brother Xaver. God cannot be offended by humans; rather, humans offend themselves when they refuse the just act of giving thanks to God. Blasphemy reigns where war is waged and violence is used in God's name.

See Bishop defends frog on Cross

A harsh critic of his words was the jurist and philosopher Michel Friedman. "I am not grateful to God and I will not be judged for it," he declared, rejecting "external religious control" and the "sense of sovereignty that world religions possess the sole truth." World religions that discriminate against women are incompatible with secular modernity: "Religions, human rights, and democracy are incompatible." Friedman also criticized Rau and the decision to invite Thiel. He himself had considered canceling his appearance, but Thiel shouldn't have the last word. According to the Vienna Festival's definition of not allowing anyone who persecutes others to speak, bringing him to Vienna was unacceptable. "Peter Thiel is a man who hunts others and supports a president who tramples on human rights." A debate with Thiel was also impossible, because debate presupposes mutual respect. "I don't have to argue with someone who wants to destroy me."

Power to the people

Taking power away from gods and rulers was also the concern of journalist Alice Hasters, the daughter of an African-American mother and a German father, who introduced the topic of looted art and colonialism. The artworks absolutely had to be returned. "But we have to stop romanticizing the past and declaring things sacred, including the palaces and statues of emperors that stand on every corner in Vienna. The saying of my ancestors is sacred to me: Power to the People." The objects are only sacred because they carry the history of people.

"If white people could no longer fill their museums with the treasures of others, they would have to ask themselves who they truly are without a claim to world domination and where they can derive their self-worth," says the author, whose ancestry traces back to Benin. The question of restitution is clear. "I don't understand this feigned naiveté. We're talking about stolen goods from the colonial era, uprooted possessions, just as my ancestors once sold them, transported across the Atlantic, treated like merchandise, and carried off on ships."

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