Michael Schmidt-Salomon (born 14 September 1967 in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

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

Giordano Bruno Foundation The Giordano Bruno Foundation (german: Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung, abbreviated: gbs) is a Germany-based non-profit foundation under public law that promotes evolutionary humanism and the enlightenment. It was founded by entrepreneur Herbert Steffe ...

, a

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

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 University of Trier (german: Universität Trier), 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 y ...

, 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, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...

, society theory,

futurology Futures studies, futures research, futurism 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 li ...

, religious criticism and ideology criticism, as well as

practical ethics ''Practical Ethics'', a 1979 book by the moral philosopher Peter Singer, is an introduction to applied ethics. The book has been translated into a number of languages. Summary Singer analyzes, in detail, why and how beings' interests should be ...

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

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

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 Mina Ahadi ( fa, مینا احدی, Minâ Ahadi, born 1956) is an Iranian-Austrian political activist. As a Communist political activist, she is a member of the Central Committee and Politburo of the Worker-communist Party of Iran. Advocacy ...

's foundation of the

Central Council of Ex-Muslims The Central Council of Ex-Muslims (German: ''Zentralrat der Ex-Muslime'', ''ZdE'') is a German association ( Verein) advocating for the rights and interests of non-religious, secular persons of Muslim heritage who have left Islam. It was found ...

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. The seat of the municipality is in Mayen, itself no ...

, and has a

non-traditional family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

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 systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

apologist Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") 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 ...

William Lane Craig William Lane Craig (born August 23, 1949) is an American analytic philosopher, Christian apologist, author and Wesleyan theologian who upholds the view of Molinism and neo-Apollinarianism. He is Professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist Univ ...

on the

existence of God The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorized ...

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, ethologist Richard Dawkins, a professorial fellow at New College, Oxford and, at the time of publication, the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science ...

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 (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

tendencies". The Ministry announced in January 2007 that it was considering a

ban Ban, or BAN, may refer to: Law * Ban (law), a decree that prohibits something, sometimes a form of censorship, being denied from entering or using the place/item ** Imperial ban (''Reichsacht''), a form of outlawry in the medieval Holy Roman ...

on selling the book to minors. The

Central Council of Jews in Germany The Central Council of Jews in Germany (German name: 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 communi ...

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

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

were illustrated in a more negative light than

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

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

.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 ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

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 pl ...

,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 Indoctrination is the process of inculcating a person with ideas, attitudes, cognitive strategies or professional methodologies (see doctrine). Humans are a social animal species inescapably shaped by cultural context, and thus some degree o ...

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 (born 8 February 1921) is a German philosopher. Born in Cologne, he lives in Heidelberg. His fields of research are Social Sciences and General Studies of Methods. He is a critical rationalist, paying special attention to rational h ...

Karlheinz Deschner Karl Heinrich Leopold Deschner (23 May 1924 – 8 April 2014) was a German researcher and writer who achieved public attention in Europe for his trenchant and fiercely critical treatment of Christianity in general and the Catholic Church in parti ...

, 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 German philosophers German critics of Islam German male writers