Download The History of Religion in Germany

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Know Your Ancestors
Through The Knowledge Gained From
Research and an Understanding Of
Their History and Their Culture
Dale Heins, July 2013
The information contained in this presentation is for the sole use
of members of Villages Genealogy Society and its German
Special Interest Group. It may not be copied whole or in part with
the exception of one (1) copy for their sole use nor may it be
distributed.
Please refer to the last slide for acknowledgements of the sources
of the materials presented herein.
Dale Heins & William Thuemmel
German SIG Co-Coordinators
THE VILLAGES GENEALOGY SOCIETY (VGS)
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 http://www.villagesgenealogy.org/
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THE GERMAN SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG)
• http://vgsgermansig.org/
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I am not a religious scholar.
◦ Therefore, I am not here to teach religion, and
◦ I may make one or more incorrect statements.
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The beliefs of the various religions nor their
differences are of concern in this presentation.
◦ We are only interested in the impacts of the various religions
on history and their relationship to the history of Germany.
(and vice versa)
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All statements presented here are taken from the
research of the subject and may be shaded by the
biases of the source.
BC/AD and CBE/CE are interchangeable.
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What is Religion?
◦ The belief in a god or a group of gods,
◦ an organization system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules
used to worship a god or group of gods, or
◦ an interest, a belief or an activity that is very important to
a person or group.
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Polytheism – a belief in many gods
◦ The religion of many of the ancient cultures
◦ Viewed gods as being in control of all natural events.
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Pantheism – a belief that all is god
◦ God is everything and everything is god
◦ We must be in harmony with nature
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Monotheism – a belief in one god
◦ Foundation of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim line of
religions
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~ 2000 BCE
◦ Judaism – Time of Abraham
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~1 – 33CE
◦ Christianity – Jesus
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~600 CE
◦ Islam – Mohammad
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A means of providing social and economic stability
to large populations;
◦ Served to justify central authority which in turn
possessed the right to collect taxes in return for social
and security services – kings and emperors play a dual
role of political and spiritual leaders – authority by divine
sanction
◦ A means of maintaining peace between unrelated
individuals – who otherwise would be more prone to
enmity (hostility to others).
◦ Note: In earlier times, people tended to follow the
beliefs/religions of their ruler.
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~62 – 70% are followers of Christianity
◦ ~ 50% Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD)
 Lutheran – Protestantism
 Calvinism
 Others
◦ ~ 50% Roman Catholic Church
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~4% Islam
< 1% Judaism
< 1% Buddhism (post-WWII immigrants)
~ 25 – 30% Confess to no religion
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Originally Indo-Europeans from area between the
Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
Sometime between 3000 BC – 2000 BC migrated
out of there to areas across Europe,
◦ To the North to become Scandinavians,
◦ To Poland to become the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths,
◦ To Germany to become the Franks, Vandals and Sueves
Antiquity & German Tribes
500 – 373 BC
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Polytheistic
◦ Belief in many gods similar to Greece, Romans and other
Indo-European people.
 Odin – Oldest, most powerful and chief of the gods (Zeus
– Jupiter) , known as Twisto or Ymir in German regions
 Freya – Odin’s wife. Fertility goddess (Aphrodite or
Venus) or goddess of magic.
 Thor – God of strength (thunder – Jupiter and Zeus –
lightning)
 Loki – God of tricks (Hermes)
 Tyr – Sky god (earlier than Odin and may have been his
father, later overthrown by Odin.)
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300 AD – Christianity becomes official religion of
Roman Empire.
312 AD – Constantine, Emperor of Western Roman
Empire
◦ Edict of Milan – mandated toleration of all religions in the
Empire
◦ 1st ecumenical councils to interpret Church doctrine.
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350 AD – Visigoth bishop Uflilas (Wulfila) translates
the Bible into Gotisch (early German)
496 AD – Clovis I, pagan king of the Franks converts
500 – 700 AD Growth of monasteries in Europe
◦ Church became largest landowner in the West by 6th century
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5th – 10th centuries - Jewish communities formed in Germany
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800 AD - Emperor Charlemagne, Frankish ruler of
France and Germany, crowned Emperor by Pope
◦ Judaism prospered under Charlemagne
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814 AD – Charlemagne dies
843 AD - Treaty of Verdun – Separation of
Charlemagne's Kingdom into 3 separate kingdoms
"Europe 814" by Hel-hama–
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Europe_814.svg#mediaviewer/Fi
le:Europe_814.svg
http://s2.picofile.com/file/7574067204/division_of_carolingian_empire_843.gif
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962 AD - German King Otto crowned Roman
Emperor, beginning Holy Roman Empire
centered on Germany
1095 AD – 1272 AD The Crusades - Religious
Wars
◦ Judaism begin to suffer, religious persecutions
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12th – 13th Centuries, Knights of the Teutonic
Order spread Christianity by force
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1346-53 - During Black Death Jews accused of well
poisoning and many other crimes, many fled to Poland
~ 1648 - Jews driven back into Germany by Cossacks
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Catholicism – exact beginning date of Roman
Catholic Church is indeterminable.
◦ Belief system recognized as Christianity in place by 1st
century, institutional structures developed over time
◦ Can’t distinguish as a separate tradition until it can be
differentiated from other Christian traditions (Eastern
Orthodoxy and Protestantism)
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Points of development
◦ 325 AD – Council of Nicea, first post-ecumenical council
at which Church leaders formed creedal statement of
universally recognized beliefs
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Points of development
◦ 381 AD – First Council of Constantinople. Amended and
ratified the Nicene Creed, version used by Christian
churches around the world
◦ 440 – 461 AD – Pope Leo I – Historians suggest that
Pope Leo is the first to claim universal jurisdiction over
worldwide Church, initiating the rise of papacy (uniquely
Roman Catholic structure)
◦ 451 AD – Council of Chalcedon – first institutional
division within Christianity, those who did not adhere to
the conclusions of the Council, separated) (Oriental
Orthodox)
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Points of development (Con't)
◦ 1054 AD – The Great Schism – Eastern (Eastern Orthodox)
and Western (Roman Catholic) branches of the Church long
divided over theological, cultural, linguistic, and ecclesiological
disputes. Separation was formalized creating the first largescale division within Christendom.
◦ 1095 – 1272 AD - The Crusades (Holy Wars)
◦ 1378 – 1417 AD The Western Schism – (A split within the
Roman Catholic Church over who would be pope – 2/3
claimants),
 Avignon (French pope) supported by Castile, Aragon, Scotland &
Savoy
 Rome (Italian pope) supported by England, Portugal, Hungry,
Scandinavian states, & the Holy Roman Empire (includes
Germany, Austria, etc)
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Protestant Reformation
◦ 1517 – Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses
 Protests clerical abuses
 Nepotism - the assignment of nephews to cardinal positions by
Catholic popes and bishops
 Usury - condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes
 Pluralism – lack of the acceptance of all religious paths as
equally valid
 Criticizes selling of indulgences (penance for sin)
 Insists the Pope has no authority over purgatory
 No foundation in gospel of merits of the saints
◦ John Calvin and other early Protestant Reformers join in
the movement (Reform Churches)
◦ Church of England (Separation religious vs. political)
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1545 – 1563 Roman Catholic Church
Prompted by Protestant Reformation (CounterReformation)
Condemnation of heresies committed by
Protestantism
25 Sessions dealing with wide range of subjects
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Scripture
Sacred traditions
Salvation
The Sacraments
And the Mass, etc.
From the decrees of the Council of Trent, 24th Session, Chapter I, 11 November 1563
"...The parish priest shall have a book, which he shall keep carefully by him, in which he shall
register the names of the persons married, and of the witnesses, and the day on which, and the
place where, the marriage was contracted..."
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This decree mandated the recording in church of marriages for both nobility and peasantry alike.
From the decrees of the Council of Trent, 24th Session, Chapter II, 11 November
1563
"...The parish priest, before he proceeds to confer baptism, shall carefully inquire of those whom it
may concern, what person or persons they have chosen to receive from the sacred font the
individual baptized, and he shall allow him or them only to receive the baptized; shall register
their names in the book, and teach them what relationship they have contracted, that they may
not have any excuse on the score of ignorance..."
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This decree led to the recording in church of baptisms. In Poland, Kielce began to keep these
records as early as 1565; Poznan, in 1577. The Papal Roman Ritual of 1614 formalized the keeping
of baptism, marriage, and death registers. Preserved registers are immensely helpful in family
history research.
Source: Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, edited by J. Waterworth (Chicago, 1848)
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Thirty Years’ War – (1618 – 1648)
◦ Began with Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II of Bohemia
attempt to curtail religious activities of subjects (Protestants)
◦ 1620 - Spread to major powers of Europe
◦ Campaigns primarily on German soil
◦ 1648 – Habsburgs (Austria) made concessions at “Peace of
Westphalia”
 Create a basis for national self-determination,
 concept of co-existing sovereign states,
 and became central to international law.
◦ Germany divided into fairly distinct regions of religion
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Southern & Western regions – Roman Catholic
Northeastern and Central regions – Protestant
Pockets of Catholics in Oldenburg and areas of Hesse
Pockets of Protestants in Baden and Northeastern Bavaria
Lutheran
Catholic
Calvinist
Regained by
Roman
Catholics
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The 1700’s – Various power struggles throughout
Europe (with it, religion tended to follow its’
leaders)
◦ Frederick William, ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia (1713 –
1740) – Promoter of Pietism, interpreting the Bible
without the authority of church leaders, tended to
reinforce Lutheranism – saw the world as filled with sin
– his duty to clean it up.
◦ Frederick II, believed in Enlightenment, scoffed at
religion.
◦ Charles VI, Habsburg monarch, Austria dies 1740 and
rule passed to Maria Theresa , religiously devout. Her
husband elected Holy Roman Emperor, 1745.
The Expulsion of the Salzburgers
Engraving by David Böecklin from Die Freundliche
Bewillkommung Leipzig: 1732
On October 31, 1731, the Catholic ruler of Salzburg, Austria, Archbishop Leopold
von Firmian, issued an edict expelling 20,000 Lutherans from his principality.
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1789 – The French Revolution (Nobility and Catholic
Church leaders) – Church lands nationalized. Europe
in turmoil.
1800 – 1806 Napoleon takes control of Europe,
Confederation of the Rhine and abolishes Holy Roman
Empire.
Napoleon emancipates the German Jews (non-citizens
with restricted rights)
1813 – Napoleon falls from power and struggle to redistribute his lands begins.
1819 – Hep-Hep Riots, anti-Semitic violence in many
of German areas resulting in Jewish losses in rights,
people and positions.
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1861 -Unification of Germany under Prussian leadership,
William I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
1864 – Bismarck began series of wars to establish Prussian
power in Europe
◦ Attacks Denmark to gain Schleswig-Holstein
◦ 1866 Austro-Prussian War
◦ 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War and gains Alsace/Lorraine
 Begin cultural struggle against Catholics, expelling Jesuits
 1878 relented – allying with Catholics against socialist threat
 After William I death, lost power under his son and grandson
◦ Late 1800’s – early 1900’s became a time political and cultural
upheaval
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Late 1800’s – early 1900’s Jews regained emancipation and
prospered in Germany.
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Christianity in state of decline in early 1900’s
◦ Undermined by rationalism, secular values & left-wing
political ideas.
◦ 1932 Church attendance dropped by 186,000 Germans
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1933 Census German’s were 52% Protestant and
33% Catholic. 522,000 Jews living in German.
Religion under Hitler became complicated.
Hitler was not an atheist – raised Catholic under a
religious mother, early education in Catholic
school, choirboy
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1933-34 Protestants are divided
◦ Many openly supported Hitler and his party, pushed for
Reichskirche (state church) loyal to Hitler, subordinate
to the state. Strong anti-Semitic strain urged rejection of
Jewish texts and expulsion of Jews who had converted.
◦ 1934 a number of churches united to resist attempts to
“Nazify” German churches, critical of Nazi policies,
particularly anti-Semitic measures.
◦ Hitler responds by arresting many of the church leaders.
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1934 – Hitler agrees to concordat with Catholic
Church
◦ Catholics guaranteed freedom of belief and worship
◦ Vatican retained right to communicate with, and preach
to German Catholics
◦ Church retained right to collect ecclesiastical taxes and
donations
◦ Catholic bishops swear oath to “honour” the government
◦ Catholic organizations (charities, schools, youth groups)
protected
◦ Catholic clergymen/delegates could not be members of or
speak on behalf of political parties
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Summary:
◦ Nazi attitude to religion complex, in general they strongly
opposed the political influences of churches,
◦ Hitler not an atheist, often utilized references to God,
Christianity and religion to connect with Germans,
◦ German Protestant churches divided about Nazism, with many
pushing for Nazified “state religion,
◦ Nazis signed concordat with Catholic church, a political ploy
soon violated.
◦ Starting in 1933, Jewish community severely persecuted
following growth of Nazism and its anti-Semitic ideology
◦ 1936 direct attacks on the Catholic Church with imprisonment
of Catholic priests
◦ On eve of WWII, approximately 214,000 Jews remain within
Germany proper (1937 borders) as a result of emigration.
http://fav.me/d68ysc3
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Post War Germany
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Christianity in East Germany
◦ West Germany – roughly equal Roman Catholics and Protestants
◦ East Germany – Approximately 85% Protestants and 15% Roman
Catholics (northwestern part of Thuringia)
◦ GDR did not feel the minority Catholics were a threat
◦ Communist government wanted the people to look to them as
god, all things come from the government
◦ Allowing people to have a god places the government in second
place in people’s minds and may lead to rebellion
◦ Karl Marx said “Communism begins from the outset with
atheism.”
◦ Lenin proclaimed that a communist regime must show itself to be
merciless toward the question of religion. There is no place for
the church in Lenin’s regime.
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1945 Stalin introduced Communism to East
Germany. He believed:
◦ In a non-competitive society,
◦ Desire induces people to change existing social structures
and such thought was unnecessary to create a rational
society,
◦ Religion was a prescientific superstition, a support for
social reaction and had no function once communist
society had been fully established.
◦ Initiated a massive anti-Semitic propaganda campaign
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To make it easier to control people, their actions
and thoughts, government implemented restricts
◦ Constitution theoretically provided for freedom of
religion, however the state placed formidable obstacles to
those seeking to exercise the basic rights. Those
practicing their religion denied educational and
professional opportunities
◦ East – West flow restricted in 1946
◦ Berlin wall – 1961 – 1989
◦ Catholic parishes cut off from their dioceses in Western
Germany – as a minority were of little threat to the
government
◦ Main efforts against religion concentrated on Protestants
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At unification majority of East Germans were
either not baptized or had left their church
Majority of atheists and agnostics registered in
Germany today (26%) are in former East Germany
In Germany today, ~62 – 70% are followers of
Christian
◦ ~ 50% Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD)
 Lutheran – Protestantism
 Calvinism
◦ ~ 50% Roman Catholic Church
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~ 25 – 30% Confess to no religion
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Certain geographic areas tend to have more Catholics
or more Protestants,
◦ Bavaria in south and Germany’s far western region are
predominantly Catholic,
◦ North, central and southeast regions are mostly Protestant.
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Germans claiming no religious affiliation may be a
financial decision rather than a religious one
◦ Germany collects a church tax (Kirchensteuer) to support
Catholic and Protestant church as well as some Jewish
communities
◦ 9% of total income
◦ Government takes a 3% fee for collecting and distributing the
tax income to the churches
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Germans who view themselves as religious often don’t
attend church except Easter/Christmas,
Church services tend to be more ritual and ceremony
and less social community,
Many official government holidays (which are
basically religious holidays) are enjoyed by both those
who confess to a religion and those who do not,
Standard part of public school curriculum in Germany
is religious instruction – mostly confined to
Catholic/Protestant students, some states offer
instruction for Jewish students. Students above a
certain age can opt out.
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Religion in Germany has gone through many
transitions over its history.
In early times, religion was a part of your daily life,
providing structure, rules, and social benefits,
changes in religious beliefs, etc., impacted
everyones life, and
understanding these changes may aid you in doing
your genealogy research.
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Library of Congress Country Studies
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Christianity in East Germany (Wikipedia)
Otto von Bismarck
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http://www.photius.com/counties/germany/society/germany_society_religion.html
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http://www.history.com/topics/otto-von-bismarck
Religion in Germany
◦ www.german-way.com/history-culture/religion-in-germany/
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Jewish Life in the Soviet Union
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http://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/265-identities-in-flux-jewish-consciousness-undercommunism-and-today
Religion in Nazi Germany
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http://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/religion-in-nazi-germany
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http://www.pluralism.org/reports/views/469
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http://www.patheos.com/Library/Roman-Catholicism.html
Pluralism Project (International Portrait: Germany (2010)
Council of Trent (Wikipedia)
History of Roman Catholic Religion