THE CHURCH IN THE NEW CENTURY

While inter-church relations have changed for the better, trends that see the ecumenical movement as threatening are gaining momentum, writes Konrad Raiser, member of the Evangelical Church of Germany and general secretary of the World Council of Churches through 2003. Such fears are linked to the breakdown and fragmentation of religious identity, secularisation, and the growing relativism at the heart of our society, Raiser writes in this article. Fears linked to the identity or integrity of each community - among Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, or Orthodox - are increasing. Religious renewal in former Communist countries is impressive but their terms of reference remain to some extent involved in the distinction between \'\'enemies\'\' and \'\'friends\'\'. In addition, today there is an indigenous, a black, and an Asian Christianity, a profusion of charismatic, Pentecostal, and prophetic communities This is the background against which the question of a new configuration of the ecumenical movement is being posed. If there is no structure of reference, nor any discipline regarding participation, we may encourage the rise of a militant, populist, and fundamentalist Christianity.