Most German chancellors have been followers of a

Christian church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...

. 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 The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

as these remain the main confessions in the country. The current German chancellor,

Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born ) is a German politician who has served as the chancellor of Germany since 8 December 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor of German ...

, is unaffiliated to any church or other religious body; he was raised Protestant.

Details

Most of Germany's chancellors have been either

. A significant portion of Protestant chancellors belonged to the

Prussian Union of churches The Prussian Union of Churches (known under Prussian Union of churches#Status and official names, multiple other names) was a major Protestant Landeskirche, church body which emerged in 1817 from a series of decrees by Frederick William III of P ...

, 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 Centre Party (german: Zentrum), officially the German Centre Party (german: link=no, Deutsche Zentrumspartei) and also known in English as the Catholic Centre Party, is a Catholic political party in Germany, influential in the German Empire ...

. The Christian Democratic Union, a party of both Roman Catholics and Protestants, produced both kinds of chancellors. One chancellor, namely Philipp Scheidemann, was

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

(Calvinist). 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.Federal Archives, files of the Reich chancellery, Friedrich Ebert's death
/ref> Gustav Bauer is on record as unaffiliated to any recognised religion at least from 1912 to 1924 (thus including his term of office),See parliamentary handbooks downloadabl

/ref> but was buried in a Protestant cemetery.See

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 Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

. 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 A census in May 1939, six years into the Nazi era and after the annexation of mostly Catholic Austria and mostly Catholic Czechoslovakia into Germany, indicates that 54% of the population considered itself Protestant, 41% considered itself Ca ...

Religious aspects of Nazism Historians, political scientists and philosophers have studied Nazism with a specific focus on its religious and pseudoreligious, pseudo-religious aspects. It has been debated whether Nazism would constitute a political religion, and there has al ...

, and

Religious views of Adolf Hitler The religious beliefs of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, have been a matter of debate. His opinions regarding religious matters changed considerably over time. During the beginning of his political life, Hitler publicly ...

By term

North German Confederation (1867–1871)

German Reich (1871–1945)

Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)

Affiliation totals

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

References

{{Reflist Germany politics-related lists Lists of people associated with religion Religion and politics