Religious affiliations of chancellors of Germany

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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.

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

Details[edit]

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[edit]

North German Confederation (1867–1871)[edit]

Name Term Legal affiliation
01 Otto von Bismarck 1867–1871 Protestant[2]

German Reich (1871–1945)[edit]

Name Term Legal affiliation during office and notes on belief
German Empire (1871–1918)
01 Otto von Bismarck 1871–1890 Affiliation: Protestant[2]
02 Leo von Caprivi 1890–1894 Affiliation: Protestant[3]
03 Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst 1894–1900 Affiliation: Catholic[4]
04 Bernhard von Bülow 1900–1909 Affiliation: Protestant[5]
05 Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg 1909–1917 Affiliation: Protestant[6]
06 Georg Michaelis 1917 Affiliation: Protestant[7]
07 Georg von Hertling 1917–1918 Affiliation: Catholic[8]
08 Max von Baden 1918 Affiliation: Protestant[9]
Weimar Republic (1918–1933)
09 Friedrich Ebert 1918–1919 Affiliation: None
Baptised Catholic, but later (before 1912) officially left the denomination.[10]
10 Philipp Scheidemann 1919 Affiliation: Protestant[11]
11 Gustav Bauer 1919–1920 Affiliation: None
Unaffiliated to any recognised religion at least from 1912 to 1924. Buried in a Protestant cemetery.[12]
12 Hermann Müller 1920 Affiliation: None[13]
13 Constantin Fehrenbach 1920–1921 Affiliation: Catholic[14]
14 Joseph Wirth 1921–1922 Affiliation: Catholic[15]
15 Wilhelm Cuno 1922–1923 Affiliation: Catholic[16]
16 Gustav Stresemann 1923 Affiliation: Protestant[17]
17 Wilhelm Marx 1923–1925 Affiliation: Catholic[18]
18 Hans Luther 1925–1926 Affiliation: Protestant[19]
19
(17)		 Wilhelm Marx 1926–1928 Affiliation: Catholic[18]
20
(12)		 Hermann Müller 1928–1930 Affiliation: None[13]
21 Heinrich Brüning 1930–1932 Affiliation: Catholic[20]
22 Franz von Papen 1932 Affiliation: Catholic[21]
23 Kurt von Schleicher 1932–1933 Affiliation: Protestant[22]
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
24 Adolf Hitler 1933–1945 Affiliation: Catholic[23]
A determined opponent of the Catholic faith, see Nazi attitudes towards Christianity and Religious views of Adolf Hitler
25 Joseph Goebbels 1945 Affiliation: 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.
26 Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk 1945 Affiliation: Protestant[25]

Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)[edit]

Name Term Legal affiliation during office and notes on belief
01 Konrad Adenauer 1949–1963 Affiliation: Catholic[26]
02 Ludwig Erhard 1963–1966 Affiliation: Protestant[27]
03 Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1966–1969 Affiliation: Catholic[28]
04 Willy Brandt 1969–1974 Affiliation: Protestant[29]
05 Helmut Schmidt 1974–1982 Affiliation: Protestant[30]
He is known to have had a distant relationship with religion, having no faith in divine justice.[31]
06 Helmut Kohl 1982–1998 Affiliation: Catholic[32]
07 Gerhard Schröder 1998–2005 Affiliation: Protestant[33]
He has not used the religious form of his oath of office.
08 Angela Merkel 2005–2021 Affiliation: Protestant[34]
She is the daughter of a pastor and has regularly affirmed her Christian beliefs.
09 Olaf Scholz 2021–present Affiliation: 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[edit]

Affiliation
Protestant 16
Catholic 13a
None 4

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

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Scheidemann, Philipp Heinrich
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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.
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