Interrelations of religion and state in Germany

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Interrelations of religion and state in Germany

Взаимоотношения религии и государства в Германии

Lyubimova O.V.

Vladimirskiy State University named

after the Stoletov brothers, Russia

In Germany, as in many other countries, the Church/State relationship has had a chequered and complex history. There were, of course, deep divisions at the time of the Reformation, the origins of which are attributed to Martin Luther, and these continued for many years. In the early nineteenth century there was still no unified German State and Germany s 300 kingdoms, dukedoms and baronies remained divided religiously as well as politically for many years, with the Protestant and Catholic Churches variously dominant.

Even after 1871, when Germany became a nation State, a significant State/Church conflict developed, primarily between the Protestant Prussian government of the Reich under Bismark and the Catholic Church.

l Protestant Prussia saw the foundation of the Catholic political party Zentrum (Centre) in 1871 as a threat to its recently gained political dominance in Germany (Anheier & Seibel, 1993).

l The Catholic Church was subject to various restrictions.

l All Catholic schools in Prussia came under State control in 1872, as did the general administration of the Church in 1873, and in 1875 all State subsidies to the Catholic Church were suspended.

The differences were settled during the 1880s and the State developed harmonious relations with the Churches.

The incorporation into the Weimarer Reichsverfassung (Weimar Reich constitution) of 11 August 1919 of Article 137: “There is no State Church. Formally rejected the concept of an official State Church. However, it was decided that religious communities which had hitherto been public law bodies could remain so, and that other religious organisations could apply to have the same rights, if they could demonstrate their durability by means of their constitution and the number of members.

The constitution (Basic Law) of 23 May 1949 established the right to religious freedom, that is, freedom of belief, freedom of conscience, freedom of religious and philosophical creeds, and the right to practise ones religion without interference. Article 140 incorporates - unaltered - into the constitution the relevant articles from the Weimar Reich constitution of 1919 relating to the freedom to practise ones religion - or to practise no religion - and the freedom of religious organisations to organise and administer their own affairs without State interference.

Thus, although the constitution does not recognise a State Church, the major Christian denominations, the Jewish congregations, and other religious organisations which have been recognised as public law corporations, enjoy a status which confers powers which only the State otherwise has, such as employing officials and the ability to levy (Church) tax on the basis of the civic tax lists. Many people consider the relationship between the State and the two main Churches in Germany, the Catholic Church and the member Churches of the Council of Protestant Churches, to be too close and too powerful. As far as the German voluntary sector is concerned, the Churchs dominance in the area of social welfare provision, heavily subsidised by the State, has been criticised by some as being a monopoly.

An important aspect of Church/State relationships in Germany is the religious education of children in school. Although under State supervision, the content of the religious education in most State schools is the responsibility of the Churches (Notwithstanding the States right of supervision, religious education will be given in accordance with the principles of the religious denominations. As far as the two main (Protestant and Catholic) Churches are concerned, there is still a geographical division in the various provinces with regard to which is the dominant religion, and a corresponding division in which religion is taught in the schools. This means that it can be difficult for children of other religious persuasions to receive instruction in their own faith in schools dominated by one or other of the two main religions. Parents are free to decide whether or not their children will participate in this religious education, and after the age of 14 children can decide for themselves. Usually a class in ethics or philosophy is provided instead for the pupils who have opted out.

Although pupils are free to attend religious education classes provided, the Churches point out that it is unlikely that they will voluntarily attend both and they claim that religious education, as an optional subject outside the normal timetable, is therefore disadvantaged. Pupils can, however, be released from having to attend if they have a good reason, and if the teaching of ethics and religion from a nondenominational point of view is against the religious convictions of a pupil (or his or her parents if the pupil is underage) an application can be made to the school for the pupil to attend only a denominational religious class.

The model proposed by the Churches is that there would be a compulsory group of subjects from which pupils could choose. Alongside the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish religions and a class in philosophy, currently available on a voluntary basis, there would be other religions or philosophies on offer and pupils would choose which to attend. Islam would be included in this group of subjects and indeed is already being taught in some schools. A judgement of the Federal Administrative Court of 23 February 2000 confirmed a Berlin court decision that the umbrella organisation the Berlin Islamic Federation was a religious denomination in the sense of §23 of the Berlin School Law. This paved the way for the teaching of Islam alongside other religions in Berlin and it has now been introduced into some Berlin schools, again on a voluntary basis. There are over 34,000 Muslim pupils in Berlin, some of whom attend special Koran schools.

The debate surrounding religious education has divided the political parties in Berlin:

l the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) supporting the Churches,

l while the Social Democratic Party (SPD) favours a model more closely allied to the Brandenburg LER (Lebensgestaltung Ethik Religionskunde)course.

l The Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the Green Party are against a compulsory subject of either kind, arguing that the present free system demonstrates a commendable separation between Church and State which should be maintained.

Religious instruction in schools is not the only aspect of Church/State relations in which the two main Churches in Germany have a dominant role. The right to levy Kirchensteuer (Church tax) is a unique and much debated tax privilege which in Germany is accorded only to religious (and some humanitarian) communities which are public law bodies. Not all of them choose to exercise their right to levy the tax, preferring to rely on freely offered donations, but the two main Churches not only levy the tax but also have an arrangement with the State to collect the tax on their behalf.

According to 2011 census:

l Roman Catholic Church in Germany: 30.8% of the German population;

l Evangelical Church in Germany: 30.3% of the German population; ? Other atheist or not specified: 38.8% of the German population

religion state germany

References

1. Мирошникова Е.М. Свобода совести в контексте отделения церкви от государства: вопросы реализации в современной Европе.// Свобода совести в России: исторический и современный аспекты. М.,2005. С.6.

2. Мирошникова Е.М. Государство и нетрадиционные религиозные движения в ФРГ. Тула, 1997.-С.84

3. Мольтманн Юргер. Религия и государство в Германии: Запад и Восток

4. Шутова А.В., Косилкин С.В. Институт свободы совести в Европе: история и современность./ Свобода совести в России. М.2004. С.26

5. Политические системы современных государств.- М.:МГИМО - Университет МИД России, Институт общественного проектирования.

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