The Role of the Churches in Germany

The major churches are being deserted by their members. Many Germans are still Christians, but only on paper. However, there continues to be relatively strong demand for ceremonies like baptism, communion, confirmation and church weddings – practically enough, the church provides the backdrop for the major rites of passage in our lives and the people to help us celebrate them.More ...

Among Catholics, children are christened before the age of one as a matter of course. Many Protestants, on the other hand, wait with baptism until later so that their children can decide for themselves when they are old enough. In addition, 26,000 adults who have not had a religious upbringing decide to join a church each year.More ...

Jan Fieseler does not really find church particularly interesting. When there is no school he most likes to spend the morning in his pyjamas playing on his computer or with Lego. But since January he has been rising early on Sundays and getting dressed. At ten o'clock, while his brothers are still lying in their beds, the eight-year-old goes to church as expected of a first communicant.More ...

The presents are the reason why many young people still have themselves confirmed in the Evangelical Church, even though the institution means nothing to them – Pastor Heike Beckedorf is quite realistic about this. Most just want money when they are confirmed – and these 13 to 15 year olds collect even larger sums than younger Catholic first communicants.More ...

Jugendweihe (roughly translated as 'youth dedication') is an East German phenomenon. It was adopted in 1954 in the former GDR as an obligatory pledge to socialism, displacing the Christian rite of confirmation. Many thought that the end of the GDR would also mean the end of Jugendweihe, but far from it. 14 years after Reunification, the number of young people choosing to undergo this initiation ceremony still runs to around 100,000.More ...

In 2002, some 113,500 couples decided to get married in a Protestant or Catholic church. Many Germans are not satisfied with simply signing their names at the registry office. Although they have little to do with the church in their daily lives, they wish to have God's blessing at the start of their marriage.More ...

Traditional Christian funeral rites are becoming less significant in Germany. More and more people are deciding in favour of alternative forms of funerals. Many are turning to forest burial grounds, where urns are buried at the roots of trees in the countryside.More ...