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.
Christian churches in Germany have taken a firm stance against far-right extremism, particularly the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is gaining traction in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD's platform includes calls to end state payments to the Protestant and Catholic churches, abolish church tax collection, and hold churches financially accountable for providing asylum to refugees.
The party also seeks to restrict church asylum services and target the Protestant Academy of Saxony-Anhalt for cutting state funding. The AfD's government program further criticizes the churches for their political activism, which the party deems "unchecked mass immigration." The AfD's stance goes beyond typical complaints, as it has called for an end to "Thinking Modern" in Saxony-Anhalt, advocating instead for a return to "Thinking German."
The churches argue that their concerns are not political but rooted in Christian principles, focusing on climate protection, refugee treatment, and human dignity. Bishop Gerhard Feige of the Catholic Church in Magdeburg emphasized that the AfD's direction is an expression of ethnonationalism, a view he finds unacceptable.
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