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East Germany Religion and Religious Organizations
Official statistics on the religious affiliation of the
population have not been available since the 1960s. Most East
Germans, however, are Protestant. In the mid-1980s, the number of
Protestants was estimated to be 7.7 million, or just under half
the population. About 7 percent, or 1.2 million people, were
Roman Catholics. Other religions accounted for less than 1
percent of the population. According to the Constitution, freedom
of religion and worship is the right of every citizen. In reality
the regime discourages participation in religious activities, and
in the mid-1980s young Christians were often denied access to the
best jobs and educational opportunities.
Most Protestants in the country are affiliated with the
Lutheran churches. In the mid-1980s, there were eight territorial
Lutheran churches; three were united in the United Evangelical
Lutheran Church in the German Democratic Republic (Vereinigte
Evangelisch--Lutherische Kirche in der Deutschen Demokratischen
Republik-VELK) and five in the Evangelical Church of the Union
(Evangelische Kirche der Union--EKU). Until 1969 the Lutheran
churches in East Germany were loosely federated with those in
West Germany. The VELK and the EKU, however, split with their
West German counterparts in 1968 and the following year
established their own Federation of Evangelical Churches in the
German Democratic Republic (Bund der Evangelischen Kirchen in der
Deutschen Demokratischen Republik--BEK). The East German regime
had been pressing for a separation of East German and West German
churches for some time as part of its program of developing an
East German consciousness and had made the maintenance of
relations with West German churches very difficult.
Traditionally the Lutheran churches have retained a great
deal of autonomy and administrative independence from one
another. After the Reformation, the churches were organized on a
territorial basis and were marked by differences in theology and
ecclesiastical administration. These characteristics have
continued into the present. Each of the territorial churches
elects its own bishop and has its own synod. Elections and
administrative matters are wholly independent from state control.
In 1984 the eight territorial churches comprised nearly 7,000
parishes, which were served by approximately 4,000 pastors. There
were fifty church-run hospitals, eighty-nine institutions for the
physically handicapped, and many similar institutions. In the
early 1980s, the largest of the Lutheran churches was the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony (a member of the EKU). This
church had approximately 1,200 parishes, 1,000 pastors, and a
reported membership of 2.3 million. In the late 1970s, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Thuringia, a member of the VELK,
had 1,587 parishes, 750 pastors, and a membership of about 1
million.
The recognition of a common set of problems that needed
solutions culminated in a movement toward the unification of the
Lutheran churches. Since its inception in 1969, the BEK has
provided a federal structure for discussing problems and setting
general guidelines, but it has exercised no real control over the
member churches and has had little impact on their policy
decisions. Moreover the creation of the BEK resulted in
organizational redundancy; there were, in effect, three
federations or unions: the VELK, the EKU, and the BEK. Each had
separate offices, governing boards, and synods. In 1979 the
churches decided to merge into one integrated union by 1981. Such
a union would exercise greater control on matters of common
interest and present a united front in dealing with the
government. Several obstacles, however, combined to forestall
unification. First, the churches involved followed different
teachings, and no resolution had been effected on the emphasis to
be given to various interpretations of the faith. Second, the
degree of linkage to churches in West Germany and West Berlin
remained open. Both the VELK and the EKU had separated from their
sister churches in the West, but the EKU had maintained
structural similarities and closer ties with the West. Finally,
there was general disagreement about whether a united front was
the best approach to dealing with the government.
The Protestant churches are financed through offerings and a
voluntary income tax on membership. In the mid-1980s, the
churches also owned about 202,400 hectares of land, which the
government had not expropriated, and operated 50 agricultural
enterprises. A substantial proportion of church financing--about
40 percent--was contributed by churches in West Germany and was
used primarily for the renovation of old buildings or the
construction of new churches. The government offered support for
charitable institutions such as hospitals, homes for the aged,
and day-care centers. These institutions provided a welcome
supplement to the network of state institutions.
In the mid-1980s, the Roman Catholic Church numbered 1.2
million; most of the church membership was located in the south.
Many Catholics had originally come from Eastern Europe as part of
the population expelled in the postwar period. The church was
divided into seven administrative districts that comprised about
830 parishes, which were administered by 14,000 priests. By East
European standards, the East German regime has treated the Roman
Catholic Church relatively well. The regime has neither subjected
the church to extreme repression nor co-opted it. Unlike the
Protestant churches, the Roman Catholic Church has maintained its
structural ties to the West because most of the church's
administrative districts were part of larger dioceses that
extended into West Germany and Poland. In the mid-1980s, the
church operated 34 hospitals, 118 nursing homes and homes for the
aged, 14 homes for the mentally handicapped, 30 children's homes,
and 137 parish social service offices.
In the mid-1980s, less than 1 percent of the population
professed a faith other than that of the two mainstream
religions. There were about 150,000 members of other Protestant
denominations, or "free churches." In addition there was a small
Jewish community of about 600 and a small community of Orthodox
Christians.
Relations between church and state have vacillated over the
years. In general the state does not tolerate organizations
outside of those officially sanctioned by the SED. All
organizations within the socialist structure of society are
designed to work together in developing a new socialist person
and in restructuring society. The regime, moreover, is committed
to an atheistic philosophy that views organized religion as an
"opium of the masses" and, consequently, a tool of capitalist
societies.
During the 1950s, the state implemented a series of measures
aimed at diminishing the influence of the church. The state
gradually assumed control of many of the functions traditionally
under the purview of the church. Church youth groups were
prohibited, and substitute youth groups under the supervision of
the SED were formed, e.g., the JP and the FDJ. Religious
instruction was forbidden in the schools and was replaced by the
teaching of "socialist morality." Secular and socialist rituals
were initiated to rival religious rituals and sacraments. A
socialist name-giving ceremony replaced the traditional
christening of infants, and a socialist marriage ceremony and
funeral service were given official sanction.
The most significant of the new rituals, however, was the
Jugendweihe (youth dedication). The Jugendweihe is
an old ritual first performed in Germany in the mid-1800s. It was
reintroduced by communist officials in 1954 as the official
ceremony marking the entry of the youth into adulthood. Normally
the Jugendweihe takes place near a child's fourteenth
birthday. It is a rite of passage that corresponds to the
Christian confirmation or the Jewish bar mitzvah. The child
receives political ideological instruction before his or her
formal initiation, which includes a vow of loyalty to the
socialist state. The churches unsuccessfully resisted the
Jugendweihe, at first threatening to deny confirmation to
youths who had participated in the socialist ceremony. The
church, however, was fighting a rearguard action in this
instance. By the late 1970s, over 95 percent of all eligible East
German youths had participated in the Jugendweihe.
Participation was a virtual necessity for any young person who
wished to secure a higher education or a good job.
Despite the restrictive measures adopted by the regime in the
1950s, however, the churches were not the object of brutal
repression. Church leaders had fought Nazi fascism during the
war, and many had been imprisoned along with communist leaders. A
certain amount of mutual respect, therefore, had developed
between the two groups. Although some clergy and local lay
officials were incarcerated when the communists came to power, no
top church officials were jailed, and the regime later released
those who had been imprisoned.
In the 1960s, Ulbricht made overtures toward rapprochement
with the Lutheran Church. The humanistic aspects of Christianity
and its commitment to peace were seen as compatible with
socialist philosophy. By easing restrictions, the regime hoped to
enlist the support of the churches in developing a collective
consciousness. In addition, certain church activities, in
particular the operation of charitable institutions, were seen as
socially useful and deserving of support. The main bone of
contention throughout this period was the continuation of
organizational unity between the churches in East Germany and
West Germany.
In the 1970s, the Lutheran churches adopted a policy of
"critical solidarity" with the regime. In essence this policy
translated into accommodation on many issues, but at the same
time the churches reserved for themselves the right to speak out
on issues that were of vital concern. (The Roman Catholic Church
is less vocal than the Lutheran Church.) The government has not
always accepted the churches' view of critical solidarity.
Rather, it has attempted to draw the Lutheran Church into closer
collaboration while at the same time refraining from muzzling
church leaders. Relations with the state relaxed considerably
after a March 1978 meeting between Honecker and BEK leaders
wherein the state made several concessions to the churches. The
role of the church as an independent entity was affirmed;
building permits were granted for the construction of churches in
new towns; promises were made to eliminate discrimination against
young Christians; and media time was allotted for religious
broadcasts.
In the mid-1980s, the peace issue became a wedge between the
church and the regime. Because of clerical and lay pressure, the
Lutheran Church provided an organizational and spiritual impetus
for the independent peace movement in East Germany. Inspired by
the Biblical injunction to "beat swords into plowshares," in 1982
the Conference of Governing Bodies of the Evangelical Churches in
the GDR advocated disarmament. The church also sought a "social
service for peace" instead of military service for conscientious
objectors.
In the 1980s, the Lutheran Church began to broaden its
criticisms of the East German regime to encompass other issues as
well. Church spokesmen attempted to link the peace issue with the
attainment of justice and regime recognition of human rights. The
Lutheran Church began to raise the issue of environmental
protection, and in 1986 the church used the nuclear accident at
Chernobyl in the Soviet Union to condemn the development of
nuclear power in East Germany. These efforts led to a resurgence
of interest in organized religion. In the 1980s, popular demand
for Bibles soared and far exceeded the output of 44,000 copies a
year. Since the early 1980s, young people, especially, have been
attending church meetings and concerts with increasing
regularity.
Data as of July 1987
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