Über rechtlichen und religiösen Umgang mit Schuld

Abstract

Summary Law and religion take different approaches in dealing with the phenomenon of guilt. From a legal perspective guilt is the question of responsibility for the act or a crime. This presupposes the concept of free will, which is principally assumed. The law can only consider external actions. This leads to a reduction of complexity, which in turn leads to the necessity of dealing with guilt in other ways as well. Because religion considers internal matters, it is able to fill in the blanks that the legal perspective disregards. Religion therefore allows forgiveness and a chance for a new beginning. The polarity of the legal and religious handling of the concept of guilt is, thus, the prerequisite for their complementarity.