Sils Nietzsche Colloquium 2026 "Politics and Religion"

Those who strive to separate religion and politics are increasingly on the defensive. The idea, for example, of the fight against evil, supposedly rooted in the true faith, is no longer found solely in political Islam, but increasingly also in liberal democracies, whether among esoteric conspiracy theorists or fundamentalists of all stripes. This includes the return of debates about political theology that were thought to be long dead, as well as terrifying visions of an impending apocalypse marked by climate change, AI, war, or pandemics. Against this backdrop, we would like to reread Nietzsche's Antichrist, his most radical engagement with religion and its politics. The Basel philologist had already declared that religions do not die: "they merely transfigure themselves." In the Antichrist, this insight culminates in a sigh: "Almost two millennia and not a single new god!" The Christian God, that "hybrid construct of decay made of nothing, concept, and contradiction," becomes for him the exemplary instrument of a power grab through fake news. From the good news, Paul fabricates an anti-gospel that distorts the "Savior" "for propaganda purposes," tyrannizes the masses, and "forms herds." This rhetoric of revaluing all values, taken to its extreme in the Antichrist, is challenging. Close readings should help us better understand the complex relationship between religion and politics, especially in light of the current situation. The colloquium is open to the public and is aimed not only at specialists but at any interested audience. The events—lectures, discussions, and reading groups—can be attended individually. Conference pass (all admissions): CHF 180.00; Conference pass for students: CHF 50.00; Single admission: CHF 20.00; Single admission for students: CHF 10.00; Single admission for the evening concert: CHF 30.00; Single admission for students for the evening concert: CHF 20.00