Attacks on places of worship and religious communities are on the rise in Germany. Unfortunately, all religious communities suffer from this security problem. The SOAR (‘Strengthening the security and resilience of at-risk religious sites and communities’) training, funded by the European Commission, therefore aims to identify potential risks faced by houses of worship and their communities. The SOAR project therefore conducted a security training in Dresden in cooperation with us in November 2022.

It was aimed at employees, supervisors and volunteers, as well as all other people who work with and in places of worship. The guiding principle of the SOAR project, and thus our joint event, was to address all religions and all forms of prayer spaces (churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.). The training included an EU guide for a general better protection of places of worship, security tips and a concept for the protection of public space.

Representatives of other religions from Saxony as well as communities from Dresden, which are supported by our project, took part in the event. Together we were able to talk about the security risks and challenges. Our project team therefore considers the topic of security in the communities to be elementary in the new year 2023.