German law: those who do not pay church tax are excommunicated

· Germany, Evangelical Christians, Catholics, Church

Those who refuse to pay the church tax cannot remain in religious communities. Such a decision was issued by the Federal Administrative Court in response to a lawsuit by the Archdiocese of Freiburg.
A believer who refuses to pay the church tax cannot remain in a Catholic community. This decision was made on Wednesday, September 26, 2012, by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, reports the dpa news agency.
This means that Professor Hartmut Zapp (HartmutZapp), who for several years has been asserting his right to remain a Catholic without paying the church tax, has lost the case. The court granted the appeal of the Archdiocese of Freiburg, overturning the lower court’s ruling.
Retired professor of canon law Hartmut Zapp refused to pay the church tax in 2007, but insisted on retaining the right to participate in religious rites, notes the epd agency.
The Administrative Court of Freiburg upheld Zapp’s suit.
However, the Catholic Church filed an appeal. In 2010, the Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg granted the appeal of the Archdiocese of Freiburg, overturning the lower court’s decision. Now that decision has been confirmed by the highest instance — the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.

A Berlin theologian explains why Germans are leaving the Churches

According to Professor of Theology at Berlin’s Humboldt University Rolf Schieder, the membership of the Roman Catholic and Evangelical Churches in Germany will steadily and rapidly decline, falling by at least another ten percent over the next two decades.

If currently about 60% of Germans are parishioners of these two religious organizations, then in 20 years only half of Germany’s residents will retain membership in them. On average, around 250,000 people a year will continue to leave their Churches, reports the portal “Sedmitza.ru”.

Schieder names financial considerations as the main reason for leaving the Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran Churches.

Recall that in Germany two Churches are officially recognized by the state — the Roman Catholic and the Evangelical. Citizens who have declared their affiliation with one of them are obliged to pay a church tax, with a corresponding notation made in their tax declaration. For employees, the church tax is automatically deducted from wages. The trend of ending church membership has been noticeable in Germany for more than a decade.

“Anyone who wants to spare their income from an additional eight percentage points of tax burden can easily decide to leave church membership,” the theologian states.

Such a decision is made mainly by young professionals aged 25 to 35. During the first five years of employment, the risk of leaving church membership is six times higher than during the subsequent career, Schieder explained. In the recent past, dissatisfaction with the institution of the Church or with individual representatives of the clergy often became the main reason for leaving the Church, while financial motives remained in second place.

According to Schieder, the majority of Germans regard the Church as an aid organization for “emergency” situations. “Who, for example, would keep firefighters in the house after the fire is out?” Schieder asks rhetorically.

Most residents of Germany turn to the Catholic and Evangelical Churches at special moments in their lives — to be baptized, married, or to hold a funeral service, and also when they encounter crimes or natural disasters.

As the “best advertisement for the Churches,” the theologian proposes continuing to improve pastoral ministry, educational institutions, social welfare organizations, and also to monitor the quality of worship services.

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