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| German Churches among World's Wealthiest |
| Success of the 'church tax' not the whole story |
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Hartmut Kaiser (emperor)  |
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Published 2006-06-20 04:18 (KST) |
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Last year Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected as Pope Benedict XVI, the first German pope in centuries. Given Germany's Nazi past and the fact that the pope had been a member of the Hitler Youth, this came as a surprise for many. Yet in my opinion one thing that had increased Ratzinger's chance in the papal conclave is the fact that Ratzinger's home country in southern Germany, Bavaria, is governed by the staunchly catholic conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) for more than 40 uninterrupted years now.
The CSU has gained between 50 percent and more than 60 percent of all votes in every election in the last 40 years. There may be no other democratic state in the world with a ruling party that has been in power for so long and with such feeble opposition. The two pillars of the CSU have been a pro-business approach, which is why many Bavarians give it credit for Bavaria's wealth, and strong support for the Roman Catholic Church, both financially and rhetorically.
Germany's economic success, combined with a unique system of "church tax" collected by government authorities and delivered to the two main churches in Germany, has turned German churches into the worlds' wealthiest (along with the United States' churches). The combined income from "church tax" for the protestant and catholic churches in Germany is about eight billion euros ($10 billion) annually, half of which goes to the Roman Catholic Church of Germany.
Both German churches own publishing houses (like "Weltbild" in Augsburg) as well as large swaths of forestland and many buildings, among other assets like shares on the stock market. The monthly income of catholic priests in Germany is 2,800 euros ($3,500) per month, bishops and cardinals in Germany earn much more.
In addition, priests, bishops and cardinals do not have to pay rent and get free accommodation in a house owned by the church. Since they are not allowed to marry, the church employs women to cook and do the wash for them. These privileges have cost German churches credibility in the eyes of the German public. More than 150,000 people quit the Roman Catholic Church of Germany every year.
Did not Jesus say, "Rather would a camel pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man enter heaven," and throw the moneylenders out of the temple? Is the affluent, contented German church of today really what Jesus had intended?
So what are the churches' positions on this topic? The Web site of the diocese Mainz, Germany, says, "Germany is one of the wealthiest countries on earth, and due to that the German church is wealthy."
In defense of the church, it has to be stated that much of the churches' real estate is leased in 99-year contracts to families with children. Most of the churches' expenses are salaries, a great deal of which goes into things like pastoral care for the mentally ill, spiritual counseling in hospitals and jails and so on.
Germany today faces a sharp decline in faith in the doctrine of the church. Many people no longer believe that Jesus' mother, Saint Mary, was a virgin all her life, that Jesus was fathered by the Holy Spirit, and that the relationship between Mary and Joseph was only platonic. The success of "The Da Vinci Code," a novel by Dan Brown, has shown that many people find the idea that Jesus was not divine but a very gifted human being with human desires appealing.
Many Germans still do not opt out of the church tax since without paying it they would lose the right to have their children baptized, to marry in the church and to have a church funeral.
This has led to a church whose members believe only in a fraction of its teachings, yet due to the German church tax and Germany's financial success the Roman Catholic Church remains wealthy -- a church with money but with few true believers.
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©2006 OhmyNews
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