Protestantism in Germany

In the early 1500s, the Roman Empire led by Charles V treated German Protestantism as a competitor to its geo-political power, issuing a decree in 1524 banning the recitation of its Lutheran works.[6] This prompted riots across Germany and in 1529 a formal protestation was issued by a body of Protestant leaders and Princes, claiming the need for a clear separation from the Reichstag (German Parliament) and the right to self-autonomy.[6] In February 1531, prominent Protestant Princes formed the ‘League of Schmalkalden’, endorsed by Martin Luther, with the intent to defend the rights of princes and the religion.[6] The league became central to the spread of Protestantism by using its political sway in Germany, helping the restoration of the Lutheran Duke of Wurttemberg in 1534, enabling the establishment of Protestantism in the region.[6] Conflicts with the Holy Roman Empire, resolved by the 1548 Council of Trent, maintained a lack of concessions to the German Protestants, and country wide riots ensured it was not accepted.[6] The official separation of Protestantism and the German Reichstag came when legislation was passed to ensure such in 1919.[7]

In the 19th century, Johann Hinrich Wichern pioneered a Protestant movement, the Inner mission, that sought a rebirth of the Church in Germany but also a greater emphasis on gaining support for social welfare and relief programs among Protestants. Through the 19th century Protestant churches in Germany were reactionary and conservative politically. Protestant theologians rejected the tenets of the French Revolution, seeing instead an increase in nationalism. This nationalism, was combined with piety, evidenced by the notable addresses of Johann Gottlieb Fichtes “Address to the German Nations” and Ernst Moritz Arndts writings against Napoleon Bonaparte.[5]

German Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 1938.

Third Reich, over sixty per cent of the population were Protestant, divided among the Confessing Church, German Christians and those unaffiliated to either.[8] In the early 20th Century, anti-Semitic writings of Martin Luther were used by some Protestant pastors and Nazi Leaders to bolster their political movement.[9] Protestant Pastors, bishops and theologians utilised Luther's writings, such as Von den Juden and ihren Lugen (On the Jews and Their Lies), to reaffirm the anti-Jewish prejudice escalating in Germany.[10] During one 1927 Protestant Church Congress in Konigsberg, Paul Althaus gave a famous keynote address deriding the Uberfremdung (foreign invasion) of the arts, fashion and finance industries,[8] reflecting the anti-Semitism of many church leaders. There were actions taken by some Church members to fight against Nazism, such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer who rescued multiple Jews in Operation 7.[11] The Confessing Church in particular maintained objections to merging of the Protestant Church and Nazi state, resulting in some being sent to concentration camps.[9] Several leading Church figures however, published substantial anti-Semitic publications, such as the Thuringian bishop Martin Sasse who distributed thirty-seven thousand copies of "Martin Luther uber die Juden: Weg mit Ihnen!" ("Martin Luther on the Jews: Away with Them!").[9] As the Nazi Party gained power, it actively destroyed the institutional structures of the Protestant church itself.[11] After the fall of Nazi power post-1945, the wider Church conducted a de-Nazification effort.[9] At the conclusion of World War II, leading Church clergy issued the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt, which acknowledged the inadequacy of Church opposition to Nazism and their culpability in regime’s power. With an increase in Protestant Church pacifism after the end of Nazism, the German Evangelical Church Assembly was formed as a forum to discuss the direction of the Church. The Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel has been a regular attendant.[5]

In the initial years of Communist rule, despite pressure on pastors to endorse the new form of government, the Protestant church insisted on remaining impartial.[12] The Communist Party however grew hostile to the church, moving to replace the festival of Christmas with celebrations of the birthday of Joseph Stalin, along with the jailing of more than 70 Evangelical pastors and lay workers from January 1953.[10] One popular Protestant pastor Siegfried Schmutzler was imprisoned for five years after a show trial, charged with ‘agitation to boycott the republic’.[13] Censorship against Protestantism was also employed, with several West German Church periodicals banned by the government, including the official Lutheran Church organ EvangelischLutherische Kirchenzeitung.[11] Official government orders, such as the 15th February 1956 ‘Fechner Decree’, banned religious instruction before school.[10] In terms of political involvement, Protestant Church leaders also pushed for the introduction of the policies of Mikhail Gorbachev, including glasnost and perestroika policies in the German Democratic Republic.[12] As a result of concerted state intrusions against Protestantism, the Church became a place to organise opposition against the Soviet Rule of the region.[13] This opposition increased citizens' Church involvement, however, the end of the German Democratic Republic led to a demographic decline in the Protestant church as the role of political activism was lost.[11] In terms of political affiliations throughout the German Democratic Republic era, members of the Protestant Church ranged from far-left Stalinists to anti-communist conservatives.[12]

Bronze monument to Martin Luther completed in 1868 in Worms, Germany.

When the Reformation occurred, the art industry was declining in Germany, however it provided a new inspiration for graphic arts, sculptures and paintings.[16] Protestant Churches displayed medieval images, along with uniquely Lutheran artistic traditions, such as the Wittenberg workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Lucas Cranach the Younger.[17] The Protestant movement brought Germany a new variation of figural sculptures, portraits, artworks and illustrations on interior of churches.[18]

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  Portrait of Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach 1562
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  Portrait of Lucas Cranach the Elder
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  Portrait of Frederick the Wise by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Martin Luther’s early reforms included an emphasis on the value music provides as an aid to worship.[19] New branches of Protestantism however, such as Calvinism, reduced the role of liturgical music and the expression of faith through the development of music.[20]

In the immediate post-Reformation and subsequent decades, the Lutheran principle of sola scripture prompted followers of the religion to promote the Bible, and the act of reading.[21] The early Lutheran church documents promoted reading and the importance of education.[11] Early reformers emphasised the use literacy of the masses such that they were able to read the Bible, as well as strengths in mathematics and literacy.[22] Lutheran Church teachings on the standards for the education of students were published in 1529, emphasising the study of grammar, definitions and the Latin language.[21] To achieve literacy across Germany, every child was forced to memorise the church's catechism.[11] At the Marburg Colloquy of October 1529, it was decided by Martin Luther, Phillip of Hesse, John Calvin, Phillip Melanchthon and other prominent German Protestant reformers, that a Protestant university should be formed. This became the University of Marburg, the oldest Protestant university in the world. By the 19th century, German universities were recognised as leading the Western world, with Protestant theology globally influenced by Friedrich Schleiermacher, Ernst Troeltsch, Julius Wellhausen and Adolf von Harnack.[5] Within the ‘GDR’ in the 1980s, the Church maintained Protestant theological faculties in six of the state universities in Berlin (Halle, Leipzig, Jena, Greifswald, and Rostock) funded by the Communist budget.[10] The Protestant leadership protested the insertion of a “materialist view” on school students' writing and the alteration of textbooks to include Communist ideology.[11]

In the years after the Reformation, Luther and his followers utilised the printing press to spread their ideas.[23] The printing press enabled the dispersion of Protestant literature throughout greater Germany.[6] In order to curb this dispersion, the 16th century Council of Trent compiled an ‘Index of Prohibited Books’ in 1559, which included the works of Protestant theologians and those who desired reform within the Church. This act reduced the ability for Protestant material to spread throughout Germany. One of the pioneers of Protestant literature was Phillip Melanchthon, who organised and consolidated the Lutheran movement in Germany in the early 16th century. His work Loci Communes began the publication of Protestant Dogmatics. He worked extensively to reform the German education system, local schooling and national universities.[5]

The Protestant Church has influenced changes in wider culture in Germany, contributing to the debate around bioethics and stem cell research.[24] The Protestant leadership in Germany is divided on the issue of stem cell research, however those opposing liberalising laws have characterised it as a threat to the sanctity of human life.[25] Within the German Democratic Republic, the Federation of Evangelical Churches formed in June 1969, lasting until April 1991, was where questions of morality were determined.[11]

The Protestant Christ Church of Mannheim, completed in 1911.

Protestant Cathedral erected in Berlin,1894.The altar is made of white marble, yellow onyx candleholders and gilded iron Apostles screen.

The Protestant Church has influenced German architecture. Among adherents to Protestantism in Germany were engineers, craftsmen and architects, enabling Lutheran constructions.[17] The earliest Protestant constructions were in the 17th century, where the castles built along Germany's Middle Rhine were inhabited by Protestant Archbishops, joined only by Nobles and Princes.[26] In the later centuries, separate Church buildings were constructed along the Rhine region, due to controversial marriage laws that mandated Protestants and Catholics marry separately.[26] The spreading of Protestant architecture was slower in other parts of Germany however, such as the city of Cologne where its first Protestant Church was constructed in 1857.[27] Large Protestant places of worship were commissioned across Germany, such as the Garrison Church in the city of Ulm built in 1910 which could hold 2,000 Protestants.[28] In the early 1920s, architects such as Gottfried Böhm and Otto Bartning were involved in changing Protestant architecture towards modern constructions.[27] An example of this new form of architecture was the Protestant Church of Resurrection built in the city of Essen in 1929 by Bartning.[27]

The Protestant Church published five regional Papers throughout the GDR, including: Die Kirche (Berlin, circulation 42,500; also in a Greifswald edition), Der Sonntag (Dresden, circulation 40,000), Mecklenburgische Kirchenzeitung (Mecklenburg, circulation 15,000), Glaube und Heimat (Jena, circulation 35,000), and Potsdamer Kirche (Potsdam, circulation 15,000).[13]

The reformation itself was grounded in a rebellion against the German Catholic church, emphasizing the primacy of the Bible, the abolition of the Catholic ritualistic mass and a rejection of clerical celibacy.[29] The 19th century saw movements within German Protestantism involving practical devotion and spiritual energy. The 20th century saw the creation of new Protestant organisations, such as the Evangelical Alliance, YMCA, and the German Student Christian movement, whose active participation involved church adherents from other nations.[5]