Religious affiliations of chancellors of Germany

Most German chancellors have been followers of a Christian church. German society has been affected by a Catholic-Protestant divide since the Protestant Reformation, and the same effect is visible in this list of German chancellors. It is largely dominated by Catholics and Protestants as these remain the main confessions in the country.

The current German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is unaffiliated with any church or other religious body; he was raised Protestant.

Details

Most of Germany's chancellors have been either Protestants or Catholics. A significant portion of Protestant chancellors belonged to the Prussian Union of Churches, which united the Reformed and Lutheran confessions throughout the Kingdom of Prussia and was in force since 1817. Some Catholic chancellors came from the Catholic Centre Party. The Christian Democratic Union, a party of both Catholics and Protestants, produced both kinds of chancellors. One chancellor, namely Philipp Scheidemann, was Reformed (Calvinist).[1]

Although there were some religious sceptic chancellors, most never officially renounced their faith and were given a Christian funeral. Hermann Müller, a Social Democrat heavily influenced by his father, an advocate of Ludwig Feuerbach's views, is the only one notable for not having been a member of any confession at all.

As some chancellors' views are uncertain or cause confusion among researchers, their official affiliation to a church is mentioned. Due to the German church tax system, legal membership in a church that has the right to collect taxes is officially registered and certain information on this status is available. Actual worldviews are not known for some chancellors; for others, they may differ from the belief system of the church of which they were legal members, as is the case e.g. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. A further link to information on their worldviews is given where available, but the absence of such a mention does not mean that other chancellors’ views were necessarily in line with the teachings of their church. For issues about Nazi stance on religion, see Religion in Nazi Germany, Religious aspects of Nazism, and Religious views of Adolf Hitler.

By term

North German Confederation (1867–1871)
NameTermLegal affiliation
01Otto von Bismarck1867–1871Protestant[2]

German Reich (1871–1945)
NameTermLegal affiliation during office and notes on belief
German Empire (1871–1918)
01Otto von Bismarck1871–1890Affiliation: Protestant[2]
02Leo von Caprivi1890–1894Affiliation: Protestant[3]
03Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst1894–1900Affiliation: Catholic[4]
04Bernhard von Bülow1900–1909Affiliation: Protestant[5]
05Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg1909–1917Affiliation: Protestant[6]
06Georg Michaelis1917Affiliation: Protestant[7]
07Georg von Hertling1917–1918Affiliation: Catholic[8]
08Max von Baden1918Affiliation: Protestant[9]
Weimar Republic (1918–1933)
09Friedrich Ebert1918–1919Affiliation: None
Baptised Catholic, but later (before 1912) officially left the denomination.[10]
10Philipp Scheidemann1919Affiliation: Protestant[11]
11Gustav Bauer1919–1920Affiliation: None
Unaffiliated to any recognised religion at least from 1912 to 1924. Buried in a Protestant cemetery.[12]
12Hermann Müller1920Affiliation: None[13]
13Constantin Fehrenbach1920–1921Affiliation: Catholic[14]
14Joseph Wirth1921–1922Affiliation: Catholic[15]
15Wilhelm Cuno1922–1923Affiliation: Catholic[16]
16Gustav Stresemann1923Affiliation: Protestant[17]
17Wilhelm Marx1923–1925Affiliation: Catholic[18]
18Hans Luther1925–1926Affiliation: Protestant[19]
19
(17)		Wilhelm Marx1926–1928Affiliation: Catholic[18]
20
(12)		Hermann Müller1928–1930Affiliation: None[13]
21Heinrich Brüning1930–1932Affiliation: Catholic[20]
22Franz von Papen1932Affiliation: Catholic[21]
23Kurt von Schleicher1932–1933Affiliation: Protestant[22]
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
24Adolf Hitler1933–1945Affiliation: Catholic[23]
A determined opponent of the Catholic faith, see Nazi attitudes towards Christianity and Religious views of Adolf Hitler
25Joseph Goebbels1945Affiliation: Catholic[24]
A determined opponent of the Catholic faith, see Nazi attitudes towards Christianity. Claims in his diary that Hitler forbade him to disaffiliate for tactical political reasons.
26Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk1945Affiliation: Protestant[25]

Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)
NameTermLegal affiliation during office and notes on belief
01Konrad Adenauer1949–1963Affiliation: Catholic[26]
02Ludwig Erhard1963–1966Affiliation: Protestant[27]
03Kurt Georg Kiesinger1966–1969Affiliation: Catholic[28]
04Willy Brandt1969–1974Affiliation: Protestant[29]
05Helmut Schmidt1974–1982Affiliation: Protestant[30]
He is known to have had a distant relationship with religion, having no faith in divine justice.[31]
06Helmut Kohl1982–1998Affiliation: Catholic[32]
07Gerhard Schröder1998–2005Affiliation: Protestant[33]
He has not used the religious form of his oath of office.
08Angela Merkel2005–2021Affiliation: Protestant[34]
She is the daughter of a pastor and has regularly affirmed her Christian beliefs.
09Olaf Scholz2021–presentAffiliation: None[35]
In spite of having disaffiliated, Scholz claims that he has completely read the Bible and that Christianity has left its clear mark on who he is.[36] He has not used the religious form of his oath of office.

Affiliation totals
Affiliation
Protestant16
Catholic13a
None4

a. ^ Including two determined opponents of the Catholic faith, Hitler and Goebbels (see Nazi attitudes towards Christianity).

See also

References
  1. Scheidemann, Philipp Heinrich
  2. Deutsche Biographie: Otto von Bismarck
  3. Deutsche Biographie: Leo von Caprivi
  4. Deutsche Biographie: Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
  5. Deutsche Biographie: Bernhard von Bülow
  6. Deutsche Biographie: Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg
  7. Deutsche Biographie: Georg Michaelis
  8. Deutsche Biographie: Georg von Hertling
  9. Deutsche Biographie: Max von Baden
  10. Federal Archives, files of the Reich chancellery, Friedrich Ebert's death
  11. Deutsche Biographie: Philipp Scheidemann (reformed)
  12. See parliamentary handbooks downloadable here; for the burial see: "Gemeinde Glienicke/Nordbahn: Schon fast in Vergessenheit geraten".
  13. Deutsche Biographie: Hermann Müller
  14. Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Constantin Fehrenbach
  15. Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Joseph Wirth
  16. Deutsche Biographie: Wilhelm Cuno
  17. Deutsche Biographie: Gustav Stresemann
  18. Deutsche Biographie: Wilhelm Marx
  19. Deutsche Biographie: Hans Luther
  20. University of Rostock: Inscription of Heinrich Brüning as a student
  21. Deutsche Biographie: Franz von Papen
  22. Deutsche Biographie: Kurt von Schleicher
  23. Deutsche Biographie: Adolf Hitler
  24. Deutsche Biographie: Joseph Goebbels
  25. Deutsche Biographie: Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
  26. Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Konrad Adenauer
  27. Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Ludwig Erhard
  28. Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Kurt Georg Kiesinger
  29. Der Spiegel, 21/1960: Anti-Brandt-Feldzug: Reise in die Vergangenheit
  30. Kommission für Geschichte des Parlamentarismus und der politischen Parteien: Die Volksvertretung 1946–1972
  31. See: Deutschlandfunk Kultur: Ein Urprotestant mit schwindendem Gottvertrauen
  32. Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Helmut Kohl
  33. Kath.net: In Schröders Kabinett ist jeder zweite Minister evangelisch
  34. Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Angela Merkel
  35. Bundestag: Biographical entry for Olaf Scholz
  36. See: Sonntagsblatt: Wie religiös ist die neue Bundesregierung? Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.