Dogma, Hierarchie und Kommunikation

Abstract

In der heutigen Kommunikationswissenschaft wird kaum mehr der einzelne Text Produzent gemeint, wenn vom Kommunikator die Rede ist. Seine Einbindung in die übergreifende (und auch seine Motivationslage relativ bestimmende) Organisation ist forschungslogischer Ausgangspunkt; denn sie ist soziales Faktum. Diese betriebliche Organisation ist auch den Kirchen eigen: die Kommunikationssituation ist verkirchlicht. Als Prinzip kirchlicher Organisation müssen jene Formulierungen von Selbstverständnis herangezogen werden, die die Summe ihrer Dogmatik ausmachen. Aber nicht die Inhalte der kirchlichen Dogmatik stehen primär in Frage, sondern deren formale Struktur unter dem Blickpunkt ihrer kommunikativen Leistung. (...) 

English 

The functional analysis of a system enables to formulate the relation between religion, church, and society. From this religion and church can be seen and treated as functions in society. Basically two structures can be distinguished, faith and dogma. Both enable communication even though in different quality and intention. Faith has been developed during history as medium for inwardness and has been serving less as basis for communicative society. Regulation of communication in the church and between church and society has been more the role of dogma. An organized community cannot waive a dogma if she wants to preserve herself as a system and if she wants to keep her identity. But if the church is mainly as exclusively bound to dogma, a lack of communication will be created. Dogma is
a theologically formulated organizational means not creating communicative but hierarchically prescribed change. The over-emphasis of a dogmatic position shows that communication for the church is a structural and not an organizational problem.