Most German chancellors have been followers of a Christian church. 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 and Protestants as these remain the main confessions in the country.

The current German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is unaffiliated.

The current German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is unaffiliated to any church or other religious body; he was raised Protestant.

Details

Most of Germany's chancellors have been either Protestants or Catholics. A significant portion of Protestant chancellors belonged to the Prussian Union of Churches, 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 Christian Democratic Union, a party of both Roman Catholics and Protestants, produced both kinds of chancellors. One chancellor, namely Philipp Scheidemann, was Reformed (Calvinist).[1]

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.[2] Gustav Bauer is on record as unaffiliated to any recognised religion at least from 1912 to 1924 (thus including his term of office),[3] but was buried in a Protestant cemetery.[4]

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. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. 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, Religious aspects of Nazism, and Religious views of Adolf Hitler.

By term

North German Confederation (1867–1871)

Name Term Legal affiliation
01 Otto von Bismarck 1867–1871 Protestant[5]

German Reich (1871–1945)

Name Term Legal affiliation
German Empire (1871–1918)
01 Otto von Bismarck 1871–1890 Protestant[5]
02 Leo von Caprivi 1890–1894 Protestant[6]
03 Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst 1894–1900 Roman Catholic[7]
04 Bernhard von Bülow 1900–1909 Protestant[8]
05 Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg 1909–1917 Protestant[9]
06 Georg Michaelis 1917 Protestant[10]
07 Georg von Hertling 1917–1918 Roman Catholic[11]
08 Max von Baden 1918 Protestant[12]
Weimar Republic (1918–1933)
09 Friedrich Ebert 1918–1919 None[2]
10 Philipp Scheidemann 1919 Protestant[13]
11 Gustav Bauer 1919–1920 None[3]
12 Hermann Müller 1920 None[14]
13 Constantin Fehrenbach 1920–1921 Roman Catholic[15]
14 Joseph Wirth 1921–1922 Roman Catholic[16]
15 Wilhelm Cuno 1922–1923 Roman Catholic[17]
16 Gustav Stresemann 1923 Protestant[18]
17 Wilhelm Marx 1923–1925 Roman Catholic[19]
18 Hans Luther 1925–1926 Protestant[20]
19
(17)		 Wilhelm Marx 1926–1928 Roman Catholic[19]
20
(12)		 Hermann Müller 1928–1930 None[14]
21 Heinrich Brüning 1930–1932 Roman Catholic[21]
22 Franz von Papen 1932 Roman Catholic[22]
23 Kurt von Schleicher 1932–1933 Protestant[23]
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
24 Adolf Hitler 1933–1945 Roman Catholic,[24]
see more details
25 Joseph Goebbels 1945 Roman Catholic[25]
see more details
26 Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk 1945 Protestant[26]

Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)

Name Term Legal affiliation
01 Konrad Adenauer 1949–1963 Roman Catholic[27]
02 Ludwig Erhard 1963–1966 Protestant[28]
03 Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1966–1969 Roman Catholic[29]
04 Willy Brandt 1969–1974 Protestant[30]
05 Helmut Schmidt 1974–1982 Protestant[31]
06 Helmut Kohl 1982–1998 Roman Catholic[32]
07 Gerhard Schröder 1998–2005 Protestant[33]
08 Angela Merkel 2005–2021 Protestant[34]
09 Olaf Scholz 2021–present None[35]

Affiliation totals

Affiliation
Protestant 16
Roman Catholic 13a
None 4

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

See also

References

  1. ^ Scheidemann, Philipp Heinrich
  2. ^ a b Federal Archives, files of the Reich chancellery, Friedrich Ebert's death
  3. ^ a b See parliamentary handbooks downloadable here
  4. ^ See "Gemeinde Glienicke/Nordbahn: Schon fast in Vergessenheit geraten"
  5. ^ a b Deutsche Biographie: Otto von Bismarck
  6. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Leo von Caprivi
  7. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
  8. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Bernhard von Bülow
  9. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg
  10. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Georg Michaelis
  11. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Georg von Hertling
  12. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Max von Baden
  13. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Philipp Scheidemann (reformed)
  14. ^ a b Deutsche Biographie: Hermann Müller
  15. ^ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Constantin Fehrenbach
  16. ^ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Joseph Wirth
  17. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Wilhelm Cuno
  18. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Gustav Stresemann
  19. ^ a b Deutsche Biographie: Wilhelm Marx
  20. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Hans Luther
  21. ^ University of Rostock: Inscription of Heinrich Brüning as a student
  22. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Franz von Papen
  23. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Kurt von Schleicher
  24. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Adolf Hitler
  25. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Joseph Goebbels
  26. ^ Deutsche Biographie: Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
  27. ^ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Konrad Adenauer
  28. ^ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Ludwig Erhard
  29. ^ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Kurt Georg Kiesinger
  30. ^ Der Spiegel, 21/1960: Anti-Brandt-Feldzug: Reise in die Vergangenheit
  31. ^ Kommission für Geschichte des Parlamentarismus und der politischen Parteien: Die Volksvertretung 1946–1972
  32. ^ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Helmut Kohl
  33. ^ Kath.net: In Schröders Kabinett ist jeder zweite Minister evangelisch
  34. ^ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Angela Merkel
  35. ^ Bundestag: Biographical entry for Olaf Scholz
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