RECORDING

A recording of the panel discussion "FUSSBALLGOTT UND FUSSBALLGÖTTER" is available online

On the evening of March 20th, 2024, a panel discussion on religion and football in the Ruhr-region took place at the German Football Museum. Matthias Friebe from Deutschlandfunk moderated the panel discussion, which was attended by Leonid Chraga, Managing Director of the Jewish Community Dortmund and Chairman of Maccabi Bochum, Karsten Haug, Pastoral Advisor at the Holy Trinity Church on Borsigplatz, Klaus Pfeffer, Episcopal Vicar General in the Diocese of Essen and Sarah Rautert, religious studies scholar at the Centre for Religious Studies (CERES).

Among other things, the discussion centred on the interrelationships and demarcations between football and religion in the Ruhr-region. The participants engaged in a lively discussion about the parallels and interactions between religion and football, which can be observed, for example, in relation to metaphors, symbolism, rituals and myth-making. The discussion repeatedly centred on the question of whether football can be seen as a substitute religion.

The event was realised as a cooperation between the German Football Museum, the Centre for Religious Studies (CERES) and the SFB 1475 "Metaphors of Religion" as well as Deutschlandfunk and the Ruhr Museum.

A audio montage of the discussion is available in the Deutschlandfunk audio library: https://share.deutschlandradio.de/dlf-audiothek-audio-teilen.html?mdm:audio_id=dira_DLF_2ffbb052