Religion

The "Grundgesetz" (the German Basic Laws, which is Germany's Constitution) guarantees freedom of faith and freedom of religion and declares that no one may be discriminated due to their faith or religious opinions. There is no state church in Germany and no control of the churches by the state. The churches and several other religious communities have the status of independant public-law corporations. The relationship between church and state is that of a partnership, regulated by concordats and agreements. Germans who are members of a church support it through their taxes, not directly as in the U.S. When taxpayers list their religious affiliation on their employment record a part of their income tax is collected by the tax authorities and given to the church to which the taxpayer belongs.

The social and charitable commitment of the churches is an integral part of public life in Germany. Their work is indispensable in hospitals, assisted-living facilities, nursing homes, schools or day-care centers.

The two large Christian Churches are the Protestant Church and the Catholic Church. Through their dedicated involvement in Germany's social and political development, they contributed decisively to the restoration of democratic structures after 1945. The churches, in particular the Protestant Church played a very important role in the peaceful revolution in the GDR. Today they address the public in many ways, publishing documents and taking part in the debate on issues like peace and disarmament and labor market policy, abortion and protection of the environment. Their 1997 joint publication concerning the economic and social situation in Germany, for example, prompted widespread discussions.

The presence of many workers from foreign countries and their families has greatly increased the importance of religious communities which were previously barely represented in Germany. This is especially the case with Islam. Today, approximately three million Muslims from 41 nations live in Germany, most of them coming from Turkey.

After the National Socialist genocide, only a few thousand people of Jewish origin remained in Germany. Today the Jewish communities have nearly 100,000 members, a number that is expected to increase. Many of them have come in the past years from the countries of the former Soviet Union, and the largest Jewish community in Germany exists in Berlin with more than 11,000 members.

For further information about religion in Germany see:

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