Since 1981, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans Schwarz has held the chair for Systematic Theology and Contemporary Issues at the Institute for Protestant Theology at the University of Regensburg. Additionally, he teaches for a semester every other year at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina, USA, as a visiting professor. Before he accepted the call to Regensburg, he taught at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, USA, from 1967-1981. At the occasion of his retirement, his friends and former doctoral students from four continents gathered together for a one-week symposium. The theme for the event, as well for this Festschrift, is - The Significance of Theology for Society, and addresses questions of ethics, politics, science, and religion. This Festschrift publishes the presentations given at the symposium, as well as a bibliography of Prof. Schwarz’s works since 1999.