Church and State: How it Works

In Russia, the share of Orthodox believers, according to research by the Levada Center , reaches 70%. However, only one in five (2011 data) believes that Orthodox Christians should pay church tax. In Germany, where the church is separated from the state, it nevertheless exists, as do religion lessons at school, Christmas and Easter holidays. PublicPost studied the German experience of interaction between church and state.

The separation of church and state, as well as freedom of religion or adherence to a secular worldview, are enshrined in the German constitution. But secession, unlike, for example, from neighboring France, is not perceived as a ban on financial relations between the state and church institutions. On the contrary, it actively helps (for a small percentage) religious communities in collecting church taxes. Thus, the largest religious communities in Germany, namely the Evangelical and Catholic churches, whose parishioners make up about 60% of the country’s population , collect 8-9% of income tax, depending on the land, but no more than 3.5% of the parishioner’s income. However, all contributions to the church are voluntary. If you call yourself Protestant or Catholic, you pay tax. If you don't want to pay, leave the church.

Cooperation between the state and the church is not limited to tax collection. Thus, clergy, theologians and teachers of religion and ethics at school are educated at the expense of the budget at state universities (in France, on the contrary, there is a ban on payment from the budget for church education). Moreover, students of other specialties can attend classes at theological faculties if they wish and take exams and tests on them, with inclusion in their diploma. Theology is taught at universities, usually by clergy. For example, Pope Benedict XVI was a professor at the University of Regensburg before ascending the throne. The current President of Germany, Joachim Gauck, on the contrary, has exchanged his pastoral career for a secular one.

In addition to the spiritual life of the Germans, the church is actively involved in the social life. For example, medical care in Germany, together with university medicine clinics and the non-denominational Red Cross (ambulance and disaster medicine), is provided by the Catholic organization Caritas and the Protestant Diakonische Werk. Of the 2 thousand German clinics, 370 are part of the Protestant Diakonie, which annually help 2 million patients. In addition, the Protestant foundation manages social and rehabilitation centers, provides psychological and psychiatric assistance to the population, counseling support for refugees, migrants and the unemployed, as does the Catholic Caritas, which has about 25 thousand help points in all socially important areas.

The church is also present in such state institutions as the army and schools. According to the German constitution, everyone has the right to study the foundations of their faith. However, atheists and representatives of religions rare in Germany study secular ethics.