the protestant church had 15 million adherents in 1945 and the roman catholic church 1 million
the churches generally had a commendable history of opposition to the nazis - many of its members had been imprisoned and tortured for their opposition
in the concentration camps, many communist prisoners had got to know and respect their religious fellow inmates
Religious education:
may 1946: the law for democratic german schools outlawed religious education in schools in the soviet zone and church schools were closed
jan 1951 : religious children could face discrimination, with other 300 expelled from school in the following years
the church youth organisation was designated a criminal organisation as the only official youth organisation was the SED- controlled FDJ
10th june,1953 : the SED admitted it had made mistakes and the expelled children were largely reinstated
Jugendweihe:
1954 : introduced as a secular alternative to confirmation , usually taken at 14 and marked the rite of passage from childhood to becoming a young adult
in preparation, candidates were taught and atheistic worldview
although it was voluntary, it was made apparent that the state expected most children would participate
response to jugendweihe
church protests were widespread - in november 1957 bishop mitzenheim gave a sermon to 1500 listernes in which he emphasised that christians should follow god's commandments where they conflicted with those of the state
1954 - 17% of youth had done it 1969 - 90% had. to not comply was seen as a great disadvantage to education and career
Fall in religious participation:
post war period saw a fall in religious belief and participation globally
new residential areas and suburbs tended to be without formal religious representation
informal church groups might appear
religious affiliation seemed on the decline , especially among the youth - 1969 survey suggested that 43% of children under 14 had no religious belief
Rapprochement pt.1
1957 : the ministry of church affairs is formed
in 1960 , its name was changed to secretariat for church affairs : its aim was to coordinate and direct church activities in the best interests of the state
oct 1960 ulbricht announced that christianity and the humanistic goals of socialism was not incompatible
rapprochement pt.2
1967 - church and state celebrated 450 years of the reformation, with the SED highlighting its role as heir to progressive movement in history
1968 constitution outlawed all-german groups - as a result, the league of protestant churches in the GDR was created , splitting away from the church in the FRG
the GDR churches still received 40 % of their budget from the FRG, particularly for the renovation of old buildings
Bishop Schonherr:
1971 - bishop schonherr made a key speech in which he said ‘we want to be a church not alongside, not against, but a church within socialism’
1976 - pastor oscar krausewitz set himself on fire in front of michaelskirche in the town of zeitz to protest against church state cooperation
Community work & programmes:
community work - the church run care homes and community ventures often in collaboration with the state
the church became prominent in the anti nuclear movement and tended to oppose developments in nato more vociferously in the warsaw pact
many churches had formed programmes to reach out to the homeless, drug addicts and those whose existence a socialist society would prefer not to acknowledge
international recognition
the church may have taken some role in the gaining of international recognition of the GDR - certainly the fact that it appeared to not be prosecuted was a significant factor
Ostpolitik:
toleration and cooperation with the churches was in line with ostpolitik and the continued involvement of the FRG churches had already been noted
The Concordat:
honecker agreed the church could build new centres of worship in the new residential areas and suburbs where they had not before followed the population
this was largely funded by an infusion of currency from the FRG
he allowed to the church more media time and accepted the importation if religious literature from the west - although there were never enough bibles to meet the growing demand in the 1980s as religion gained adherents
Honecker’s aims:
honecker was undoubtedly genuine in seeking to normalise relations between church and state, albeit mainly in former of the latter
the SED recognised the church was not going to disappear and so a workingrelationship had to be affimed
the SED needed to widen its appeal and supportbase - if the church could be incorporated at little cost, then it made sense to do so
The Church’s aims:
the church recognised the need to enjoy a positive relationship with the state - given their willingness to cpo-operate they could not understand why discrimination occurs