A conference of Bishops is being organized. - Söder advocates for concluding talks surrounding church payments.
Markus Söder, the Minister President of Bavaria (CSU), advocates putting a stop to debates surrounding government funding for Germany's religious institutions. He further desires to have this topic permanently frozen, as per his statements in Munich during a remembrance event for Bavaria's Concordat's centenary. The majority of his fellow state governors support his stance, and most states, excluding Bavaria, cannot afford to withdraw their support, which amounts to a staggering billion euros annually.
Churches in Germany were provided with government funds following the expropriation of German abbeys and churches in the early 19th century during a process called secularization. As a result, with the exception of Hamburg and Bremen, all federal states make annual payments to the Catholic and Protestant Churches. This amounted to around 550 million euros every year nationwide as of recently. These funds lead to non-affiliated taxpayers contributing towards religious communities.
A major controversy arose over possibly abolishing government funding while offering a billion-euro sum to the churches. For several years, a working group under the Federal Ministry of the Interior has been discussing this matter.
Söder compared the suggestion of giving Catholic and Protestant Churches a billion-dollar payment in Germany to "a culture war". He implied that it would spawn heated debates regarding envy.
For 2023, the Bavarian state budget sets aside 77 million euros in government grants for the Roman Catholic Church and close to 26 million euros for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. Moreover, there are 27 million euros stipulated for church buildings.
Söder declared in Munich that the Bavarian Concordat, which includes financial regulations and government authority over appointing Bavarian Catholic bishops, filling theological positions at universities, or hiring Catholic religious instructors in public schools when the church consents, will not be addressed during his tenure. The Munich Archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, termed the arrangement a "smashing success".
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Markus Söder's stance on freezing church payments discussions aligns with most state governors, despite the significant financial implications for states other than Bavaria. The controversy over abolishing government funding and offering a billion-euro sum to churches has been a topic of discussion within a working group for several years.
In contrast to other federal states, Hamburg and Bremen do not provide annual payments to religious institutions. As per the Bavarian state budget for 2023, 77 million euros are allocated for the Roman Catholic Church, 26 million euros for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, and 27 million euros for church buildings.
The Bishops' Conference is organizing a conference, but Söder does not intend to address the Bavarian Concordat during his tenure, which includes financial regulations and government authority over appointments. The Munich Archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, described the arrangement as a "smashing success".
Söder compared the idea of giving billion-dollar payments to Catholic and Protestant Churches in Germany to "a culture war" and predicted it would ignite debates about envy. The centenary of Bavaria's Concordat was commemorated in Munich, where Söder advocated for permanently freezing discussions on church payments.
The controversy over church funding has drawn attention to the financial burden for most states, with annual payments totaling over a billion euros. Governments began providing funds to churches following secularization, an 19th-century process which involved expropriating German abbeys and churches.
The CSU, led by Minister President Söder, plays a significant role in shaping policy regarding religion and government financing in Bavaria and Germany as a whole. His stance on church payments and the centenary of Bavaria's Concordat reflects the tension between religious institutions and government financing in German politics.
