The ring parable from the play “Nathan the Wise” by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing is a key text of the Enlightenment. In times of technological disruption and fast progessing modernization, one might think that religion and faith no longer play a role. But the opposite is true: the gods are returning and Cologne is their capital. No other German city has as many different religious communities.

The district Chorweiler is particularly representative of these. Within a very small area there live people of many different religious denominations and follow their respective religious practices. They all stand on stage as a “chorus of believers” and weave their personal stories and creeds into the famous Ring Parable by Lessing.

Stefan Herrmann goes on a research trip to a district, which is notorious and yet endearing. The “chorus of believers” is searching for answers to the eternal questions: Why do we believe? Why don’t we?