The Role of the Protestant Church and the Relation of Church and State in Germany

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to welcome you in this house.  My name is Martin Dutzmann, and I am the Representative of the Protestant Church in Germany to the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union. I am going to comment this terribly long official name later – but first let me welcome you with all my heart in this center of Berlin at the Gendarmenmarkt considered by some to be the most beautiful square of the capital. I hope you feel comfortable here.

Since I am sure you learnt something about the regional Berlin church of Berlin in the consistory of the EKBO this morning already, I would like to open up your view a little by telling you something about history and structure of the Protestant Church in Germany, the EKD. I was asked also to say something about the role of the EKD in Germany and about the relation of church and state in general, which I will gladly do.

I. History and Structure of the Protestant Church of Germany

Let me start with a short view into the history of the EKD: As you all know we are this year close to the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the reformation. During this movement initiated by Martin Luther and other reformers many regional rulers and towns decided to side with the reformation. They declared this position with their signature under the “Augsburg Confession” in 1530. The connection of religion and regional ruler, of “throne and altar”, meant protection and growth for the young reformatory ideas, but also the embedding of the churches into the jurisdiction of the powerful, the so-called regional church regiment. What followed were bloody confessional wars between followers of the old Catholic and the new Protestant creeds, which found a temporary end not before the Augsburg Peace of Denominations. From that time on Germany had become a denominationally divided country.

The regional church regiment ended with the abolition of the monarchy in 1918. The border lines of most church provinces however still remind us of it. They are not drawn according to the order of the state’s federal  borders which were drawn after the  Second World War, but are at large identical with the border lines of the federal states and provinces of the imperial Germany as known up to the year 1918.

As you will notice, the sizes of the territories of the regional churches are differing quite a lot from one another. The smallest of them, the (Evangelical Lutheran) regional church of Schaumburg-Lippe, has not even 700 square kilometers in extension (with 60.000 church members), the biggest, the (Evangelical Lutheran) regional church of Hannover, contains nearly 40.000 square kilometers (with 2,76 Mio. church members). Each of these 20 regional churches is independent - and cares to be so. To outsiders this is sometimes a bit confusing. For example the spiritual leaders of the various regional churches hold much differing titles: we have bishops, regional bishops, church presidents, presides, one regional superintendant and one secretary. More important, however, are the differences on theological grounds: there are eight Lutheran regional churches, one Reformed and one mainly Reformed regional church as well as ten “United” ones, i.e. such churches in which Lutheran and Reformed traditions come together.

After the Second World War the German regional churches united to become the Protestant Church in Germany. However, it never was nor is it to this day a centralized national church but a community of independent churches of various denominations.

In spite of Germany’s division, the EKD originally remained to be a Union of the Protestant regional churches of both German states. But the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961 caused greater organizational problems. Also the challenges the churches met both in West and East Germany had meanwhile grown considerably. So in 1969 the Alliance of the Protestant Churches in the GDR of the eight regional churches in East Germany was founded. After the reunification of both German states in 1990/91 the Alliance of the Protestant Churches in the GDR reunited with the EKD.

The latest chapter of the EKD history is not yet known to many, since it is only a few months old: On its meeting in November 2015 the synod of the EKD agreed on a change of its fundamental constitution. Accordingly the EKD is not only the umbrella organization of its member churches, but it is a church in itself. It sounds modest, but you can imagine that it is of some importance for the view we have of ourselves.

The authorized organs of the EKD are “Church Conference”, “Council” and “Synod”. The synod is a kind of parliament of the Protestant Church. Its task is to decide on church laws and the household and give advise on matters which concern all regional churches. The synod is made of 120 members from all regional churches, who are elected for six years. It is headed by the preses.

The council of the EKD might be compared to a government. It is made of 15 members, both lay people and theologians who are also elected to hold office for six years. The council guides the EKD in all matters which are not expressly kept for other organs. Particularly it is meant to represent the Protestant Christianity publically and to give statements on questions of religious and social concerns.

Finally the Church Conference is constituted of the member churches’ heads. Here the shared responsibility and influence of the regional churches on the direction of church actions is expressed. It has the advisory task toward EKD and member churches.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to leave my short view of the EKD at that – should there be any questions there will certainly be an opportunity after I finished.

I would like to continue now to throw some more light on the issue of the relation between church and state in Germany. This will help also to clarify the impact the churches have on our society.
 
II. Judicial principles of the relation between state and church in the Federal Republic of Germany

The constitutional court of religion of the Federal Republic of Germany traces back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919 which had to redefine the relation between church and state after the end of the state church. Three principles were followed: freedom of religion, ideological neutrality of the state and self-determination of all religious groups. Thus, the freedom and equality of all religious and ideological communities should be guaranteed in a secular state. The Weimar Constitution and the following Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany codify the separation between church and state and take a different path than Great Britain or Denmark where the Anglican or the Lutheran church is the state church. But the separation between state and church doesn’t mean that everything religious is banned into privacy. These laical solutions have been chosen by France and Belgium. The Weimar Constitution and the following Basic Constitutional Law are rather taking an intermediate way by describing „freiheitsdienende Offenheit des Staates für die Religionen seiner Bürger“ [an openness of the state conducing the religion freedom of its citizens] (Hans Michael Heinig).

The Federal Constitutional Court describes the neutrality of the state towards religious groups as „promotional neutrality”. It is possible to go even further by claiming: there is a relation based on partnership between church and state.

This German religious constitutional law based on cooperation is reflected most explicitly in the contracts between state-run bodies of the Federation, the federal states and the churches. The particular form of these contracts  show that the relation between state and church is characterized by independence and cooperation: state and church are separated but relate to each other. Within the contracts with the federal states, the discussed agreements cover for example topics like universities, cemeteries, preservation of monuments and the broadcasting service –often the entire spectrum of the state-church cooperation is visible.

The basic “interfaces” characterizing the relation between church and state can be found in the Basic Law. This includes for example the religious education, the church tax and military chaplaincy in the Federal Armed Forces. The rights guaranteed in the Basic Law which the two big churches claim to are no privileges – in contrast to what currently has been read in the media and therefore gets into many people’s minds. They derive from the status of being public bodies which can be acknowledged to all religious groups or non-religious ideological groups under certain conditions. This results from article 137 of the Weimar Constitution which is related to article 140 of the Basic Law. Today, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Muslim Ahmadiyya-community are for example public bodies.

Let me begin with religious education in schools which is a consequence of the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Basic Law. Also it is aiming at a cooperation based on partnership. Article 7 of the Basic Law defines, that the state exercises the right of supervision, while the religious groups take the responsibility of the classes being concordantly with their basic set of beliefs. Religious education should provide the free religious and ethical orientation of children and adolescents. This also includes Muslim religious education whose implementation is supported by the EKD.        

Another often criticized point of contact between church and state codified in the Basic Law is the church tax. The term “tax” is mistakable. The church tax is not a state-run tax, but in its core rather a membership fee of the churches. However, churches are able – as well as other religious and ideological groups as public bodies - to assign the collection of the church tax to the state. This has been done by the two big churches in Germany as well as by the Jewish community. Something that is known by the fewest critics of this cooperation is that both sides profit to a high degree in doing so: the religious and ideological groups save the expenses of building up an administrative structure. On the other hand, the state is paid for this assistance by keeping 2 to 4 percent of these taxes of churches or other religious or ideological groups.

Within the church there was and is an ongoing debate about the close cooperation between state and church in the military chaplaincy in the Federal Armed Forces. Legal basis for the pastoral care in the Federal Armed Forces is the military chaplaincy contract of 1957. Within this document the Federal Republic of Germany and the Protestant church agree that the military chaplaincy should be on behalf of and under supervision of the church. Responsible is the Military Bishop who is not employed by the state. The state provides the organizational structure of the military chaplaincy and covers the expenses. This refers to the state’s obligation to grant the freedom of religion laid down in the Basic Law. Since the state restricts this assurance by barracking soldiers, executing maneuvers or obliging them to foreign military services lasting for months, it has to provide compensation. This does not only include soldiers but also people sentenced to imprisonment. That is why prison chaplaincy is also refinanced by the state.

II. The role of the church in the Federal Republic of Germany: a high-performing participant of the social life and backup of the democratic constitutional state

I hope that I have made it clear that the relation between state and church in the Federal Republic considering its constitutional basics aims at the same time on separation as well as on cooperative partnership that has to prove its worth over and over again. The state acknowledges the churches and religious communities as important social protagonists. Directive is thereby the principle of subsidiarity. Subsidiarity implies here that the state only provides services within a social and cultural realm if there are no social agencies or if those are not willing to do so. In that sense existing competence is used, the civil society is encouraged and diversity supported. The subsidiarity principle reacts historically to the policy of enforced conformity of the National Socialism. By providing that the subsidiarity principle can unfold its effects the churches contribute to the stabilization of our democratic society.

The commitment of the churches in society is especially present in the diaconical realm. The official number of full-time employees of the Diakonie Germany is currently 449.000 and about 10 million people use their services. The numbers within the Roman Catholic Church and their organization Caritas are comparable. Out of the commitment of the Protestant and Catholic church our society draws profit in multiple ways: It profits of the special competence of the employees of the Diakonie and Caritas, of the financial equity ratio provided by the churches in different sections and last but not least the additional commitment of volunteers counting 700.000 in the protestant facilities alone. Thus the church and the Diakonie provide the possibility and the agency which can benefit all citizens. Thereby a unique contribution can be made for the functionality of our society.

Considering education and culture churches also constitute as important partners of the state. The religious education in schools has already been mentioned. In addition to that there are the schools, universities, academies and day-care centers for children run by churches which provide significant contributions to our multi-religious society. Hence the facilities communicate social values like identity-formation and identity-orientation, acceptance, lingual communication and tolerance. The high demand in this church service for society can be proven by numbers: Every sixth place of day-care centers for children is run by the Protestant Church. Altogether, Church and Diakonie run 1.134 protestant schools of all types. Within the cultural realm the Protestant and Catholic Church provide every year significant financial means between 3.5 and 4.8 billion Euro. That corresponds approximately to the amount of money which is allocated annually by all federal states of Germany together. In this spirit, the church demonstrates special commitment in monument conservation and music; to mention only two of them.

In the course of the subsidiary principle the church is involved in an important state assignment: the developmental cooperation. Each year the protestant development service “Brot für die Welt” receives more than 120 million Euro from the state; additionally about 120 million Euro come up which have been made available through church tax revenues or donations from the EKD and the member churches. Thereby, projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America can be supported. In contrast to the state the church can make use of a network of around 3000 local partnership organizations which are even active within remote regions or under very dangerous circumstances. These local partners can reach and mobilize people who would not easily be accessible for governmental organizations.

These examples show how the church is acting beyond its core competencies. The church supports, comforts und accompanies millions of people in our country throughout the proclamation of the gospel und offers them a spiritual and social home within the community. That is the church’s first and the noblest task. But it does not stop at this point. The Protestant and the Catholic Church make a socially productive and democracy stabilizing contribution which does not only benefit its own members but all people in our country and also people beyond the German borders.

To accompany the current political affairs in a critical way and to take an active part in society - this is what the Christian churches want because of their basic approval to the democratic form of government which is not only demanding the handover of responsibility to the churches but also enabling it. Within the commonly written text “democracy needs virtues” of the EKD and the German Roman Catholic Bishops Conference from 2006 the conviction is pronounced that our liberal democracy “relates in a special way to the Christian conception of man”.

Consequently, churches comment on various political and social contexts. They do this without being asked but are from time to time requested to bring in their expertise within social and political processes. On the national and European level we intend as good as possible to speak with one voice. This is the concern of the Representative of the EKD Council.

II. The Representative of the EKD Council in the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union

The office of the Representative has been in existence for the past 66 years. The EKD Council created it just a few months after the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany. After the horrible events of the national socialist period the EKD intended to be established significantly close to positions of political responsibility in order to observe their doings as closely as possible and if necessary to be able to influence it. The department of the representative acts in a hinge position between church and federal or European politics. The representative is accountable for the political information of the council and for the political communication of the EKD. Thus the church is participating in various social debates and is dealing in a specific way with the contact points between state and church.

Since October 2013 I am holding this office which is located here at the Gendarmenmarkt while the office in Brussels is situated very near the European Commission. I carry out the task of political communication together with my small staff of employees. The majority of this staff is made of theologians and jurists. Furthermore, there is a close and trustful cooperation with the catholic colleagues of the Catholic liaison office in Berlin under the direction of Prelate Dr. Karl Jüsten. The experience has shown: the closer the ecumenical solidarity the greater are the prospects of success.

Despite the fact that I mainly operate within and out of Berlin the work in Brussels is increasingly gaining importance. Since 1990 the EKD is represented in Brussels. Together with director Katrin Hatzinger eight other employees work there. Initially the office was intended to be an early warning system for the protection of the institutional interests of the EKD but then expanded its activities due to the increasing competences and assignments of the European Union.

The success of the European policy will depend on succeeding to “give Europe a soul”. Jaques Delors who was president of the commission of the European Community between 1985 and 1994 said this and got to the heart of the issue – an over and over updated justification and promotion. To give its citizens a better and closer understanding of Europe is also considered as one of the tasks of our office. When it concerns the matter of forming the European basis of values, reinforcing the solidarity and to communicate the European idea to the citizens the churches consider themselves as partners of politics.

Owing to ecumenical efforts the social significance of churches is accredited by contract now on European level as well. This arises from Art. 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union: „Die Union (achtet) den Status, den Kirchen und religiöse Vereinigungen oder Gemeinschaften in den Mitgliedstaaten nach deren Rechtsvorschriften genießen und beeinträchtigt ihn nicht“ [the Union respects the status enjoyed by churches and religious associations or communities and doesn’t impair it]. Later in the very same article the Union is mentioning: „offenen, regelmäßigen und transparenten Dialog mit den Kirchen, Religions- und Weltanschauungsgemeinschaften in Anerkennung ihrer Identität und ihres besonderen Beitrags“ [to maintain an open, steady and transparent dialogue with the churches, religious and ideological associations in recognition of their identity and their special contribution]. Hence the European Union has not chosen the French model of laïcité by banning every religious aspect from the public space. In contrast to that it decided to be addressable to churches and religion. This illustrates that the European Union is not only intending to be an economic community but also a community of values.

Concretely our activities can be divided into three categories:

1. The church in Berlin and Brussels
First and overall is the function to be church for the politicians. This implies the celebrating service. Within the session weeks of the parliament (Bundestag) two church services are offered weekly. They take place in the prayer room of the Reichstag and are organized alternating between me and my catholic counterpart Prelate Dr. Jüsten, employees of both offices or members of the German parliament. Currently, about 25 members of parliament of all parliamentary groups are participating in these devotions. Further, the political church offices are responsible for ecumenical services which are celebrated before official acts of state as constituting the Bundestag or the election of the Federal President. These offers illustrating the bond between church and state are lively contact points of church and state. This also applies to services of gratitude and blessing which are celebrated in the Bundestag since 2009 at the end of each legislative period or for the annually worship in respect of the voyaging diplomats.
Subsequently, the aspect of community should be taken into account regarding the presence of the church in politics. Regularly, protestant members of parliament but also representatives without the confessional connection are invited to join a breakfast at the office in Berlin as well as in Brussels. Beginning always with a devotional, in the process of the event a thematic impulse follows and apart from that there is time for conversations and personal exchange. In a similar way, every year the employees of the members of parliament are invited to the Gendarmenmarkt. Within this context our annual reception Johannisempfang for representatives of society, church and state organized by the Representative in Berlin as well as the ecumenically arranged annual reception in our office in Brussels should be mentioned. Additionally, during the decade of the Reformation each year a trip for members of the German and the European Parliament is organized which should present different “sites of Luther’s life”. In the previous year Torgau was the destination, for 2016, of course, Wittenberg was chosen.

The fields of activities of the church in the political Berlin clearly include obviously the pastoral care as well. This takes place in each church community at an agreed date but also very often unplanned at encounters of other occasions.

2. Commitment for the weak
„Tu deinen Mund auf für die Stummen und für die Sache aller, die verlassen sind.” (Sprüche 31,8). [Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Book of proverbs 31,8]. This verse of the Bible is a mission statement for the work of the Representative. By participating at political and social debates the church’s main concern is that of those people whose voice is not or poorly heard within the political realm.

How do we enter into the political discourses? It is a broad subject that reaches from personal contacts with political actors on all levels, by letters and written statements, the participation in hearings and exchanges of experts down to the event such as the “Treffpunkt Gendarmenmarkt”, the forum for discussions offered by our office.  Which representatives of parties we contact, whom we support, who we criticize depends of course on the respective issue. Basically the Representative keeps contact with all parties represented in the parliament.

The issues we are picking up come for example from the field of social politics or health politic. In the context of debates of ethical dimension concerning the beginning and end of life we also take position, i.e.  in reference to pre-implantation diagnostics and euthanasia.

A priority or our work in Berlin and Brussels lies at present of course on the issue of refugees. You expressly asked for it; I believe this actual situation plays a big role in you church as well.

The good news in this matter is the great engagement of our church. For more than 20 years the regional churches, the institutions and organizations of the EKD invested considerably into the erection and extension of suggestions (?) to the refugee relief. In 2015, too, we put in three-figured millions. In addition there were several more positions for the refugee relief created; the support of the refugees has now become a center concern in the work of now 1, 2 Million protestant voluntary workers. Volunteers accompany refugees to the authorities and support them in the asylum procedures. They organize and offer language courses, collect donations, help find accommodations and offer off-time entertainment and child care.

But we all know that this alone will not do but that the problem needs the political, i.e. the European solution. In September 2015 the Swedish archbishop Antje Jackelén and the chairman of the EKD council, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, worried about the “political lack of solidarity within the European Union” stated in reference to the actual humanitarian need: “There is an urgent necessity to find a serious agreement on an effective European refugee policy” they both stress in a common declaration. In a similar mind a few weeks later during an international conference of bishops and church leaders a communiqué was given, which was an appeal to all governments in Europe “to insist as a community living on this continent on our shared values and shared responsibility for the (human) life”.

On the national level there have been a number of statements of the Representative in the preceding months but also a declaration of the council and a statement of the leading clergy of all regional churches. In it the signatories leave no doubt about the “Christian responsibility” to accept and welcome refugees. They underline the church’s demand to create legal passages to Europe and call to fight the causes of the flight.

Our offices in Berlin and Brussels in these concerns hold an important advisory function of the heading clergy, particularly of the EDK council’s chairman. At present my co-workers/colleagues and I follow up and accompany the intended and executed alterations of laws referring to jurisdiction on foreigners and refugees of the last months. The high number of people seeking protection, the noticeable burden laid on the communities and the increasing influence of rightwing extremist parties – the “Alternative for Germany” according to predictions is expected to gain up to 15% of the votes during the coming three federal elections in March – put pressure on the government. Its main concern is therefore to be viewed as capable of acting.

In the face of the massive problems caused by dealing with the asylum applications, the housing of those in need of protection and the registration of the immigrants she is at present not successful. Instead of managing these concrete problems the great coalition introduces many legal aggravations which to our understanding do not erase the problem but worsen the situation of the asylum seekers clearly. Among them being the extended obligation of the asylum seekers to remain in primary accommodations. For six months they must keep to the same residence, will not receive any pocket money and are not permitted to work. To us this seems counterproductive considering that a large part of those in need of protection will remain and integrate in Germany. Another aggravation: deportations must not be announced to the persons affected anymore, not even in the case of affected families with small children and health problems. On top of that the list of safe countries of origin is constantly extended. During the past months the number of the states which were considered safe since 1993 already was increased by Senegal and Ghana, Albany, Bosnia and Herzegowina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – all of them known to persecute certain groups like homosexuals, critical journalists and Roma, partly massively. Which means: they must not be count as safe.

At this moment we are worried about the next amendment – the so-called “Asylum packet II” - which is supposed to write down measures of the admission and dealing with refugees.

Here especially the aspect of joining one’s family has created a big stir recently. We hold the position based on the agreement of the EKD-Synod of November in which the members of the synod expressed the right of joining one’s family even for people with reduced expectations on protection and stress that the family is an essential factor of integration. In this respect we also view reductions of joining one’s family for minors very critically. We are soon going to make an official statement on all measures to be taken with the Asylum packet II, a procedure which by the way is mostly done in accord with the Commission of German Bishops, the Catholic Office in Berlin. Another concern in this packet are the accelerated procedures affecting certain groups as for example asylum seekers coming here without legal papers. We do not believe that this fact can generally be held against a person as an act of misuse since many refugees either lose their passports or were advised by trafficers to destroy them before entering the country.
The asylum procedures for these people and other groups are supposed in future to be executed in special centers and within a short time. Inhabitants of such centers are not permitted to leave a certain area – breaking that obligation is considered as a withdrawal of their application. We believe that this contains the danger of breaking the international prohibition of refoulement – which is the law which prevents the deportation of possible people in need of protection into the country of origin where they might meet persecution without looking into their request for protection.

3. Representation of church interests
Thirdly, the office of the representative of the EKD is eventually advocating the interests of the church as an institution. This, however, is the smallest part of our work.
The establishment of the office in Brussels in 1990 was mainly caused by the consultations about the data protection directive (95/46/EC) in Europe. This directive intended in French-laical tradition that the state cannot be allowed to collect and to transfer data. The enormous consequences for the church tax system are easily imaginable. At that time the churches were able to intervene in time to avoid worse consequences. However, this incident has raised awareness about how much influence the legislation from Brussels on the cooperation between state and church in Germany can have. Currently, the data protection directive has become an important matter again and once more we have managed to intervene at the European Commission and the German government in order to consider the special requirements of the German churches – not least against the resistance of France.

I am about to finish. I have tried to illustrate how the relation between church and state in Germany and Europe is organized legitimately and how this relation is actually presented. I have intended to describe the current issues by dipping into our offices in Berlin and Brussels. The conclusion is unambiguous: church, society and state can be very content with this situation. This condition, however, should not be taken as incontrovertible. In Germany not a few people regard the relation between church and state with mistrust. Many argue that the separation reaches not far enough and there is an increasing support for demands of a laical solution like France. The relation between church and state practiced in Germany and accepted by the European Union serves actually the entire society. However, it requires an over and over updated justification and promotion.
Thank you very much for your attention. Now I am curious for you questions, comments and suggestions.