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Bjerager, Erik
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4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Erik Bjerager on the significance of the Church for the State
A movement is gaining ground in Denmark aimed at separating the Church from the State. Erik Bjerager argues in the Christian daily Kristeligt Dagblad that the Danish National Church, which has existed since the Reformation, should be maintained: "The most important argument for keeping the National Church at the state's side is the fact that this connection acts as a bulwark which protects Denmark as a Christian cultural community. ... If the state puts an end to its links with the Church de-Christianisation will progress swiftly and that wouldn't be to anyone's advantage. Why should we break away from the spiritual influence that has been a cultivating and civilising influence in Denmark for the last thousand years? The Christian influence in legislation is marked by the ecclesiastical message of personal freedom and responsibility, caring for society's weakest members and the constant awarness of our duty to love ourselves and our neighbours with all our flaws and shortcomings. Christianity is thus the best medicine against personal underestimation and the idolisation of those in power."
» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Religion, » Weltanschauung, » Denmark
The EU's progress report on Turkey
The newspaper's editor in chief Erik Bjergager clearly expresses his opinion that Turkey should not join the EU: "Criticism of the Turkish state is still not allowed. Freedom of religion is restricted, and this also applies to Christianity. Turkey still violates human rights, among other things by permitting the torture of prisoners. And finally Turkey still hasn't recognised the EU member state Cyprus. Perhaps the cause of democracy in Turkey would be best served if the country remains closely involved with the EU through the membership process. It's in Europe's interest that Turkey should move closer to the West. However, granting the country full EU membership is not in Europe's best interest. The idea that Turkey can form a bridge between the West and the Muslim world is naive. The opposite was the case in the cartoon row. And in the case of the Pope's speech, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made things even worse. Turkey has no place within the EU."
» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » EU Policy, » Turkey
Editors acquitted in the Muhammad cartoon case
A court in Arhus has delivered a verdict of not guilty in the case against the editors Carsten Juste and Flemming Rose of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, who stood trial for publishing the notorious Muhammad cartoons. A group of seven Muslim organisations brought the action against the editors. The newspaper's editor-in-chief Erik Bjergager approves of the court's decision: "Although we distanced ourselves from the publication of the cartoons, one expects an open democracy like Denmark to provide as wide a scope as possible for what can be expressed and what can be the subject of satirical comment. Any other ruling would have been a catastrophe for freedom of speech. Danish Muslims must learn to accept that you can make jokes about religion – no matter how tasteless one may find them. This doesn't mean it's permissible to mock other people or their beliefs or make them look ridiculous, and the ruling also makes this clear. We have laws against slander, libel, defamation, racism and blasphemy. But there's plenty of leeway before the courts consider that the limits have been reached."
» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » Print media, » Religion, » Weltanschauung, » Denmark
The individualist views of Denmark's new free newspapers
Yesterday the new free newspaper Nyhedsavisen was delivered to 500,000 Danish households for the first time. An editorial announces that politics always affects the individual. "Your money, the schools your children attend, your health, the food you eat, your working conditions, the delays in public transport." Erik Bjergager, editor in chief of Kristeligt Dagblad, takes a sceptical view of this attitude, which he says reduces citizens to mere consumers. "There's not a word about the fact that any sensible policy is not about me but about us, or about how we as a society can find joint solutions for problems that affect us all. Politics is not a recipe for the individual to grab as much as he can for himself but something that affects society as a whole. If journalism degenerates to the point where politics is only regarded in terms of what it can give the individual, the sense of community and of being a society will be lost. This would be a catastrophe."
» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » Print media, » Philosophy, » Denmark
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