Religious affiliations of chancellors of Germany

The current German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is unaffiliated.

Most German chancellors have been followers of a Christian church. German society has been affected by a Catholic-Protestant divide since the Protestant Reformation, and the same effect is visible in this list of German chancellors. It is largely dominated by Catholics and Protestants as these remain the main confessions in the country.

The current German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is unaffiliated to any church or other religious body; he was raised Protestant.

## Contents

* 1 Details
* 2 By term
* 2.1 North German Confederation (1867–1871)
* 2.2 German Reich (1871–1945)
* 2.3 Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)
* 2.3.1 Affiliation totals
* 3 See also
* 4 References

## Details

Most of Germany's chancellors have been either Protestants or Catholics. A significant portion of Protestant chancellors belonged to the Prussian Union of churches, which united the Reformed and Lutheran confessions throughout the Kingdom of Prussia, and was in force since 1817. Some Catholic chancellors came from the Catholic Centre Party. The Christian Democratic Union, a party of both Roman Catholics and Protestants, produced both kinds of chancellors. One chancellor, namely Philipp Scheidemann, was Reformed (Calvinist).[1]

Although there were some religiously sceptic chancellors, most never officially renounced their faith and were given a Christian funeral. Hermann Müller, a Social Democrat heavily influenced by his father-an advocate of Ludwig Feuerbach's views, is the only one notable for not having been a member of any confession at all. Friedrich Ebert was baptised Roman Catholic, but later officially left the denomination.[2] Gustav Bauer is on record as unaffiliated to any recognised religion at least from 1912 to 1924 (thus including his term of office),[3] but was buried in a Protestant cemetery.[4]

As some chancellors' views are uncertain or causing confusion among researchers, only their official affiliation to a church is mentioned. Due to the German church tax system, legal membership in a church that has the right to collect taxes is officially registered and certain information on this status is available. Actual worldviews are not known for some chancellors; for others, they may clearly differ from the belief system of the church of which they were legal members, as is the case for e.g. Hitler and Goebbels. A further link to information on their worldviews is given where available, but the absence of such a mention does not mean that other chancellors’ views were necessarily in line with the teachings of their church. For issues pertaining to Nazi stance on religion, see Religion in Nazi Germany, Religious aspects of Nazism, and Religious views of Adolf Hitler.

## By term

### North German Confederation (1867–1871)

| Name | Term | Legal affiliation

|
|
|

01 | Otto von Bismarck | 1867–1871 | Protestant[5]

### German Reich (1871–1945)

| Name | Term | Legal affiliation

|
|
|

German Empire (1871–1918)
01 | Otto von Bismarck | 1871–1890 | Protestant[5]
02 | Leo von Caprivi | 1890–1894 | Protestant[6]
03 | Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst | 1894–1900 | Roman Catholic[7]
04 | Bernhard von Bülow | 1900–1909 | Protestant[8]
05 | Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg | 1909–1917 | Protestant[9]
06 | Georg Michaelis | 1917 | Protestant[10]
07 | Georg von Hertling | 1917–1918 | Roman Catholic[11]
08 | Max von Baden | 1918 | Protestant[12]
Weimar Republic (1918-1933)
09 | Friedrich Ebert | 1918–1919 | none[2]
10 | Philipp Scheidemann | 1919 | Protestant[13]
11 | Gustav Bauer | 1919–1920 | none[3]
12 | Hermann Müller | 1920 | none[14]
13 | Constantin Fehrenbach | 1920–1921 | Roman Catholic[15]
14 | Joseph Wirth | 1921–1922 | Roman Catholic[16]
15 | Wilhelm Cuno | 1922–1923 | Roman Catholic[17]
16 | Gustav Stresemann | 1923 | Protestant[18]
17 | Wilhelm Marx | 1923–1925 | Roman Catholic[19]
18 | Hans Luther | 1925–1926 | Protestant[20]

(17) | Wilhelm Marx | 1926–1928 | Roman Catholic[19]

(12) | Hermann Müller | 1928–1930 | none[14]
21 | Heinrich Brüning | 1930–1932 | Roman Catholic[21]
22 | Franz von Papen | 1932 | Roman Catholic[22]
23 | Kurt von Schleicher | 1932–1933 | Protestant[23]
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
24 | Adolf Hitler | 1933–1945 | Roman Catholic,[24]
see more details
25 | Joseph Goebbels | 1945 | Roman Catholic[25]
see more details
26 | Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk | 1945 | Protestant[26]

### Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)

| Name | Term | Legal affiliation

|
|
|

01 | Konrad Adenauer | 1949–1963 | Roman Catholic[27]
02 | Ludwig Erhard | 1963–1966 | Protestant[28]
03 | Kurt Georg Kiesinger | 1966–1969 | Roman Catholic[29]
04 | Willy Brandt | 1969–1974 | Protestant[30]
05 | Helmut Schmidt | 1974–1982 | Protestant[31]
06 | Helmut Kohl | 1982–1998 | Roman Catholic[32]
07 | Gerhard Schröder | 1998–2005 | Protestant[33]
08 | Angela Merkel | 2005–2021 | Protestant[34]
09 | Olaf Scholz | 2021–present | none[35]

#### Affiliation totals

Affiliation |

|

Protestant | 16
Roman Catholic | 13a
none | 4

a. ^ Including two determined opponents of the Roman Catholic faith, Hitler and Goebbels (see Nazi attitudes towards Christianity).

## See also

* List of prime ministers of Canada by religious affiliation
* Religious affiliations of prime ministers of the Netherlands
* Religious affiliations of presidents of the United States

## References

1. ↑ Scheidemann, Philipp Heinrich
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Federal Archives, files of the Reich chancellery, Friedrich Ebert's death
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 See parliamentary handbooks downloadable here
4. ↑ See "Gemeinde Glienicke/Nordbahn: Schon fast in Vergessenheit geraten"
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Deutsche Biographie: Otto von Bismarck
6. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Leo von Caprivi
7. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
8. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Bernhard von Bülow
9. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg
10. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Georg Michaelis
11. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Georg von Hertling
12. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Max von Baden
13. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Philipp Scheidemann (reformed)
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Deutsche Biographie: Hermann Müller
15. ↑ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Constantin Fehrenbach
16. ↑ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Joseph Wirth
17. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Wilhelm Cuno
18. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Gustav Stresemann
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Deutsche Biographie: Wilhelm Marx
20. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Hans Luther
21. ↑ University of Rostock: Inscription of Heinrich Brüning as a student
22. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Franz von Papen
23. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Kurt von Schleicher
24. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Adolf Hitler
25. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Joseph Goebbels
26. ↑ Deutsche Biographie: Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
27. ↑ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Konrad Adenauer
28. ↑ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Ludwig Erhard
29. ↑ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Kurt Georg Kiesinger
30. ↑ Der Spiegel, 21/1960: Anti-Brandt-Feldzug: Reise in die Vergangenheit
31. ↑ Kommission für Geschichte des Parlamentarismus und der politischen Parteien: Die Volksvertretung 1946–1972
32. ↑ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Helmut Kohl
33. ↑ Kath.net: In Schröders Kabinett ist jeder zweite Minister evangelisch
34. ↑ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Angela Merkel
35. ↑ Bundestag: Biographical entry for Olaf Scholz

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