Michael Schmidt-Salomon (born 14 September 1967 in

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

) is a German author, philosopher, and public relations manager. As chairman of the Giordano Bruno Foundation, a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

organization that is critical of religion, he has been identified as Germany's "Chief Atheist." His books include the '' Manifesto of Evolutionary Humanism: A Plea for a Contemporary Culture'', and ''Die Kirche im Kopf'' (''The Church in the Head''). His children's book ''Wo bitte geht's zu Gott?, fragte das kleine Ferkel'' ("Which is the way to God, please?, little Piglet asked") caused controversy for its depiction of religion.

Life

Schmidt-Salomon studied education sciences at the

University of Trier The Trier University (), in the German city of Trier, was founded in 1473. Closed in 1798 by order of the then French administration in Trier, the university was re-established in 1970 after a hiatus of some 172 years. The new university camp ...

, earning his master's degree in educational theory in 1992, and his PhD in 1997. From 1992 to 2001 he worked as a research assistant and lecturer at the University of Trier. The main focuses of his work are science theory,

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

, society theory,

futurology Futures studies, futures research or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will live and wor ...

, religious criticism and ideology criticism, as well as

practical ethics Applied ethics is the practical aspect of moral considerations. It is ethics with respect to real-world actions and their moral considerations in private and public life, the professions, health, technology, law, and leadership. For example, bio ...

. He began lecturing at the ''Institut D'Etudes Educatives et Sociales'' (IEES) in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

in 2002. From 1999 to 2007, Schmidt-Salomon was editor of the journal ''MIZ (Contemporary Materials and Information: The Political Magazine for Atheists and the Irreligious)'' He has been CEO of the Giordano Bruno Foundation since 2006. He co-inspired Mina Ahadi's foundation of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims in 2007, and co-organised the Kritische Islamkonferenz in 2008 and 2013. Schmidt-Salomon lives in

Vordereifel Vordereifel is a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the eastern edge of the Eifel, west of Mayen Mayen () is a town in the Mayen-Koblenz, Mayen-Ko ...

, and has a non-traditional family consisting of two biological children, three adopted children, and three other adults.Blasphemie im Kinderzimmer
(Blasphemy in the children's room), ''SkepTicker: der säkulare Medienbeobachter'' (''SkepTicker: The secular media observers''), 27 September 2007 (Accessed 5 April 2008). He has debated

Christian philosopher Christian philosophy includes all philosophy carried out by Christians, or in relation to the religion of Christianity. Christian philosophy emerged with the aim of reconciling science and faith, starting from natural rational explanations wit ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and

apologist Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their fa ...

William Lane Craig William Lane Craig (; born August 23, 1949) is an American Analytic philosophy, analytic philosopher, Christian apologetics, Christian apologist, author, and theologian. He is a professor of philosophy at Houston Christian University and at the T ...

on the

existence of God The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and theology. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God (with the same or similar arguments also generally being used when talking about the exis ...

Children's book controversy

Schmidt-Salomon's book ''Wo bitte geht's zu Gott?, fragte das kleine Ferkel'', illustrated by Helge Nyncke, was published in the autumn of 2007. The book has been described as " Richard Dawkins's

The God Delusion ''The God Delusion'' is a 2006 book by British evolutionary biologist and ethologist Richard Dawkins. In ''The God Delusion'', Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator, God, almost certainly does not exist, and that belief in a personal ...

for children," due to its criticism of religion.'Anti-Semitic' children's book faces ban
by Harry de Quetteville, ''Telegraph.co.uk'', 27 February 2008 (Accessed 8 April 2008) In December 2007, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs raised objections to the book, deeming it inappropriate for children and youth due to its depiction of religion, and charging that the book had "

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

tendencies". The Ministry announced in January 2007 that it was considering a ban on selling the book to minors. The

Central Council of Jews in Germany The Central Council of Jews in Germany (German: ''Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland'') is a federation of German Jews. It was founded on 19 July 1950, as a response to the increasing isolation of German Jews by the international Jewish commu ...

supported such a ban. One criticism of the book was that

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

were illustrated in a more negative light than

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

.Tale of a hedgehog, a piglet — and 'hate'
by Toby Axelrod, ''The Jewish Chronicle'', February 15, 2008 (Accessed 7 April 2008) The illustrations were compared to " anti-Semitic caricatures from the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

era." Peter Riedesser, director of the University Hospital for Child and Youth Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in the

University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf The University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (German: Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, UKE) is the teaching hospital of the University of Hamburg and the largest hospital in Hamburg, Germany. The UKE has 1,738 beds and 121 day-care pla ...

,German: ''Universitätsklinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie am Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf'' deemed the book suitable for children. Riedesser saw the book as emphasizing equality between believers and unbelievers, and he did not find it indoctrinating or demeaning of religion.

Publications

* Michael Schmidt-Salomon: ''Hoffnung Mensch Eine bessere Welt ist möglich.'' Piper, München 2014, * Michael Schmidt-Salomon: ''Leibniz war kein Butterkeks. Den großen und kleinen Fragen der Philosophie auf der Spur'' Pendo Publishing Company, München-Zürich 2011, * Michael Schmidt-Salomon: ''Jenseits von Gut und Böse. Warum wir ohne Moral die besseren Menschen sind'' Pendo Publishing Company, München-Zürich 2009, * Michael Schmidt-Salomon: ''Susi Neunmalklug erklärt die Evolution: Ein Buch für kleine und große Besserwisser'' Alibri Publishing Company, Aschaffenburg 2009, * Michael Schmidt-Salomon: ''Die Geschichte vom frechen Hund: Warum es klug ist, freundlich zu sein'' Alibri Publishing Company, Aschaffenburg 2008, * Michael Schmidt-Salomon: ''Auf dem Weg zur Einheit des Wissens. Die Evolution der Evolutionstheorie und die Gefahren von Biologismus und Kulturismus.'' Alibri Publishing Company, Aschaffenburg 2007, * Helge Nyncke und Michael Schmidt-Salomon:
Wo bitte geht’s zu Gott? fragte das kleine Ferkel. Ein Buch für alle, die sich nichts vormachen lassen.
' Alibri Publishing Company, Aschaffenburg 2007,
English translation of the text (PDF)
* Carsten Frerk und Michael Schmidt-Salomon: ''Die Kirche im Kopf. Von "Ach Herrje!" bis "zum Teufel!".'' Alibri Publishing Company, Aschaffenburg 2007, * Michael Schmidt-Salomon:

' 2. enlarged editions, Alibri Publishing Company, Aschaffenburg 2006, * Hermann Gieselbusch und Michael Schmidt-Salomon (Ed.): ''"Aufklärung ist Ärgernis...": Karlheinz Deschner - Leben, Werk, Wirkung.'' Alibri Publishing Company, Aschaffenburg 2005, (omnibus with contributions from

Hans Albert Hans Albert (; 8 February 1921 24 October 2023) was a German philosopher. He was professor of social sciences at the University of Mannheim from 1963, and remained at the university until 1989. His fields of research were social sciences and g ...

, Karlheinz Deschner, Horst Herrmann, Joachim Kahl, Ludger Lütkehaus, Hermann Josef Schmidt and others) * Michael Schmidt-Salomon: ''Stollbergs Inferno.'' Alibri Publishing Company, Aschaffenburg 2003, * Michael Schmidt-Salomon: ''Erkenntnis aus Engagement.'' Alibri Publishing Company, Aschaffenburg 1999, (an interdisciplinary contribution to the discussion about the shaping of the future) * Michael Schmidt-Salomon: ''Mythos Marx? Grundrisse des Lebens und Werks des Philosophen, Ökonomen und Politikers Karl Marx.'' In: ''Aufklärung und Kritik''. Special report 10/2005 * Michael Schmidt-Salomon: ''Von der Negation zur Position: Über die Notwendigkeit säkularer sozialer Dienstleistungen.'' In: Humanismus Aktuell 3/1998

Notes and references

External links

Salomons Homepage
Michael Schmidt-Salomon's personal website *
Aufklärung und Kritik: Zeitschrift für freies Denken und humanistische Philosophie
', (''Enlightenment and Criticism: Magazine for free thinking and humanistic philosophy''), published by the Society for Critical Philosophy, Nuremberg. This issue archive includes many articles by Schmidt-Salomon. *
Materialien und Informationen zur Zeit (MIZ)
': website of the magazine edited by Schmidt-Salomon from 1999 to 2007. *
Reading of the cabaret artist Dr. Satori from 2008
': website of the "Giftspritzer" magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt-Salomon 1967 births Living people People from Trier German atheists German humanists 20th-century German philosophers 21st-century German philosophers German critics of Islam German male writers