Webinar: How Do We Become Human(e)?
Date & Time
Saturday, 13 December 2025 at 5:00 PM UTC
Description
This question - How Do We Become Human(e) - has been growing in importance as so much changes in the world: in culture, politics, mentality, relationships… Together with the participants, Esther will explore it, inspired by the thought of Fritz Buri.
Fritz Buri (1907-1995) was a liberal Protestant Pastor, Professor of Systematic Theology and disciple of Schweitzer and Jaspers. His theology and background were connected with the IARF, “Freies Christentum” and Unitarianism. He bridged various backgrounds, also in interfaith dialogue, especially with Zen-Buddhism and Confucianism. His philosophical approach to Jaspers and to existentialist philosophy influenced his reflexions on Symbol and Self and he described the symbol of a universal cosmic Christ in “The Buddha-Christ as the Lord of the True Self. The Religious Philosophy of the Kyoto School and Christianity”.
Esther published her doctoral thesis about the understanding of existence in the theology of her former teacher, Buri, in May 2025, and is working on an English translation. She is the main representative of the IARF at the UN in Geneva, and serves as the president of the International Association of Liberal Religious Women (IALRW, 1910).
Portrait by Samuel Buri, son of Fritz Buri.Â
IARF Network Contact
Esther Suter
Rev. Dr. Suter is an ordained minister in the Swiss Reformed Church, with a diverse background spanning various roles and engagements. She has served as a pastor, university hospital chaplain, and volunteer pastor in a disadvantaged area of Manhattan, New York. Her passion for ecumenism and interfaith dialogue led her to focus on Peace and Reconciliation, particularly through her involvement in partnership programs between the Federation of Swiss Reformed Churches and Presbyterian Churches in South Korea.
Throughout her career, Rev. Dr. Suter has embarked on significant journeys to Latin America and Africa, undertaking projects such as establishing a shelter for street children in Santiago de Chile during a military dictatorship. She has also been an active participant in various United Nations World Conferences of Women and served as a delegate for the World Council of Churches. Her commitment to women's rights and human rights has led her to engage with organizations like the International Association of Liberal Religious Women and the International Association for Religious Freedom, where she serves as an NGO representative at the United Nations.
In 2018, Rev. Dr. Suter co-founded Swiss Interfaith Women, a member of the International Association of Liberal Religious Women. Under her leadership, they organized an interfaith and intercultural Youth Camp focused on religion, art, and peace for young women. Additionally, she has made notable contributions during the COVID-19 lockdown by promoting her Doctoral Thesis in Systematic Theology on Fritz Buri's existential understanding.
Rev. Dr. Suter's diverse interests encompass women's rights, feminist theology, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, nuclear disarmament, peace advocacy, language proficiency (German, French, English, Spanish, Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Chinese), and Chinese medicine.