Main content

Religion in Germany

As President Obama joins Angela Merkel to celebrate the Reformation's 500th anniversary, Ernie Rea and guests discuss the religious climate in Germany.

As President Obama joins Angela Merkel to celebrate the Reformation 500 Anniversary, Ernie Rea and guests discuss the religious climate in Germany.

The Reformation left Germany with a predominantly Catholic South and Protestant North; but today the scene is much more nuanced. The legacy of Communism means that religious affiliation in the former DDR is much lower than in the West; the number of Muslims in Germany now nudges five million, following the recent arrival of Syrian refugees, and debates around Islam and multi-culturalism are likely to play a prominent part in elections later this year.

Ernie's guests are Nick Baines, the Anglican Bishop of Leeds, who as a multi linguist has had a close relationship with all things German for many years; James Hodkinson, Associate Professor in German at the University of Warwick; and Silke Horstkotte, a Lutheran living in Leipzig who is also a Research Fellow at Warwick.

Producer: Rosie Dawson.

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Mon 22 May 2017 16:30

Broadcast

  • Mon 22 May 2017 16:30

Six things you might not know about chanting

Here are six things we learned from Beyond Belief鈥檚 exploration of the power of chanting.

Podcast