In a significant move that could reshape the relationship between church and state in Germany, government factions in the Bundestag have introduced a draft law aimed at replacing state payments to churches. Currently, these payments serve as compensation for the expropriation of church properties during the secularization period of the early 19th century. Scheduled for a vote this autumn, the proposed legislation, supported by the SPD, Greens, and FDP, seeks to sever financial ties between the state and religious institutions, granting federal states the autonomy to determine compensation methods. While proponents argue this is a step toward modernizing church-state relations, opponents warn of potential budgetary constraints and the implications for established traditions. This article delves into the motivations behind the law, the reactions from various political factions, and the broader implications for Germany's secular landscape.
The federal states pay hundreds
of millions annually to the two regional churches - compensation for
expropriations during secularization. But the Basic Law and the Weimar
Constitution demand an end to this. The government coalition now wants
to take action. The federal states are resisting this.
Junge Freiheit: Berlin - The government factions in the Bundestag have presented a law to replace state payments to churches. As the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports, the draft law can be passed without the approval of the Bundesrat. The vote on the draft is scheduled for the autumn.
The
Catholic and Protestant churches receive state payments as compensation
for the expropriation of church property and land in the course of
secularization, especially in the early 19th century. The Weimar
Constitution - incorporated into today's Basic Law - already contains
the mandate to replace these compensation payments, for example through
one-off or installment payments. The SPD, Greens and FDP had agreed on a
corresponding "basic law" in their 2021 coalition agreement.
SPD politician Castellucci: “Cut the ties between state and church”
The
SPD parliamentary group's spokesman on religious policy, Lars
Castellucci, told the paper: "I am clearly against making the basic law
subject to approval." According to the FAZ, the provisions in
the text of the law are to remain vague. "It will certainly not be a
text that will definitively prescribe the form of replacement for the
states," stressed Castellucci.
The aim is not to harm the
churches. "It's about cutting the financial ties between the state and
the churches," said the SPD politician. The federal states should then
be free to decide whether and how they want to compensate the churches,
for example through cash payments, land, forest or securities. The
Protestant and Catholic churches currently receive more than 600 million
euros annually from the federal states.
Federal states warn
Saxony-Anhalt's
head of the state chancellery, Rainer Robra (CDU), warned the federal
government against going it alone. "It would be more appropriate for the
German state structure to present a law that requires approval," Robra
told the FAZ . If the law does not stand up to scrutiny, the
states will criticize it. Robra fundamentally considers the move to be
inappropriate: "In view of the tight budget, it would be wiser to
further postpone the replacement of state benefits."
The CDU,
meanwhile, proposed a contrary change. The Union faction's legal policy
spokesman, Günter Krings (CDU), wants to delete the mandate in the Basic
Law. "The relationship between church and state has worked well since
1919, even without replacing state benefits," Krings told the FAZ.
In
May 2021, the FDP, the Left Party and the Greens had already presented
such a basic law. However, it was rejected by the then grand coalition
under Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU).
