Germany's Christian Churches take a stand against far right
The AfD in Saxony-Anhalt has embarked on a confrontational course toward the churches. Representatives of the Catholic and Protestant churches are responding with a mix of anxiety and resolve.
The Christian churches in Germany are standing up against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is gaining significant support in Saxony-Anhalt. The parties have taken a strong stance against the AfD's proposed government program, which aims to abolish state payments to the Protestant and Catholic churches, end church tax collection by public authorities, and hold churches financially accountable for providing shelter to refugees.
Bishop Gerhard Feige, a Catholic leader, warned that voting for the AfD would be casting their votes "into the blue," the AfD's party color, during a sermon at a pilgrimage event. The AfD's rhetoric against the churches is seen as a direct attack on democracy and Christian values, with Bishop Feige emphasizing that the AfD's platform is an expression of ethnonationalism.
The churches maintain that their criticism is not against the AfD as a party but against its extremist ideology.
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