June 23, 2008 issue
Churches revive faith in former East Germany
By Mindy Ehrhart Mennonite Weekly ReviewDRESDEN, Germany — It removed mention of Christ’s birth and God from the lyrics of Christmas songs.
Alexander Neufeld pastors the Evangelisch-mennonitische Freikirche in Dresden, Germany. Its location adjacent to a Christian cemetery gives the 70-member congregation opportunities to reach people who visit to pay respect to loved ones. — Photo by Mindy Ehrhart
It pressured parents to have a secular coming-of-age celebration for their children instead of confirmation in a church.
It limited the best education and job opportunities to those who agreed to abandon their religious faith, serve in the army and participate in government-sponsored activities.
While it was in power between 1949 and 1989, the East German government attempted to erase religion from society.
After the fall of the Communist government and German reunification in 1990, Mennonite congregations have been among the Protestant churches trying to build faith and believers in the former East — the geographic home to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation.
They have a lot of work ahead of them. According to 2005 statistics from the Evangelical Church of Germany, 27 percent of the population in the former East Germany identifies as Christian. In the former West, 74 percent does.
The number of practicing Christians in the former East Germany was much higher when the country was founded in 1949, according to Robert F. Goeckel, professor of political science at the State University of New York Geneseo and author of The Lutheran Church and the East German State.
He said that while the East German government was in power, the number of practicing Protestants declined from about 85 percent of the population to 25 percent. And many of those did not attend church services.
Religion was seen as a threat to the Communist government.
“Religion was seen as a false consciousness that would detract believing members of the working class from class interests,” Goeckel said.
Comment on the article Churches revive faith in former East Germany
The purpose of comments is to engage in dialogue. We expect commenters to treat authors and each other as each would want to be treated. Respectful criticism is welcomed; offensive comments or parts of comments will be removed by the site administrator. Name and comment will be posted; email address is for follow-up only and will not be made public.
Download
Download a free PDF showing the populations of
Mennonite groups and other Anabaptists.
