Diakonie v perspektivě teorie sociálních systémů
Diakonia from the Point of View of the Social Systems Theory

Summary/Abstract: This article is devoted to the differentiation of diakonia in modern society based on Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory. It first addresses the inner differentiation of the religious system, the framework of which is to assign diakonia the task of creating a re¬lationship to other systems of society. Dierk Starnitzke attempts to formulate theologically a diakonia-code which facilitates diakonia in order to receive input from other systems it relates to, while at the same time, maintaining its identity. The article further reflects on the formation of the diaconal work-structures at the three levels where social systems operate: interaction, organization and society. The task of theology is to impart the vision for organized diaconal work which currently prevails. The differentiated approach to diakonia facilitates a more adequate analysis of the problems diakonia faces in modern secularized society and how to relate various conceptions of diakonia to one another.This article is devoted to the differentiation of diakonia in modern society based on Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory. It first addresses the inner differentiation of the religious system, the framework of which is to assign diakonia the task of creating a relationship to other systems of society. Dierk Starnitzke attempts to formulate theologically a diakonia-code which facilitates diakonia in order to receive input from other systems it relates to, while at the same time, maintaining its identity. The article further reflects on the formation of the diaconal work-structures at the three levels where social systems operate: interaction, organization and society. The task of theology is to impart the vision for organized diaconal work which currently prevails. The differentiated approach to diakonia facilitates a more adequate analysis of the problems diakonia faces in modern secularized society and how to relate various conceptions of diakonia to one another.

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