Macy Hintzman on the Bavarian Relationship Between Church and State
By: Macy Hintzman
October 14, 2008
Religious tradition in Munich runs as deep as the city’s name itself; München (the German spelling) comes from the old German word “mönche,” meaning “monks.” Accordingly, the city’s coat of arms features a monk holding an oath book, and the city colors are the same as those of the Holy Roman Empire: black and gold. It thus comes as no surprise that Roman Catholicism continues to be the most popular religion of Munich’s inhabitants, but this percentage is still lower than that of the Bavarian state (where the city is located) as a whole. This type of religious orientation is at odds with the rest of Germany, and such differences are reflected in the politics unique to the region.
Europe in general is known for being more politically liberal than the United States, especially in comparison to our nation's right wing. This perception generally transfers to the many parties of the German political system, but in Bavaria exists the exception: the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU). It operates only in the Bavarian state, and its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union, exists in the rest of the country. The CSU claims its political ideology to be that of Christian democracy, though also with added social conservatism not found in other parties. It is said to have origins in both the Bavarian Peoples Party and the German Center Party of the Weimar Republic. The latter was a predominately Catholic party, of which the Bavarian Peoples Party was initially a part. Yet it eventually broke away to follow an even more conservative path that would come to be associated exclusively with Bavaria.
The strong religious heritage of the CSU has not worked against the party's popularity, but rather it seems to have supported it to the level of power it exercises today. The CSU has been in charge of the Bavarian government nearly every year since it officially came into existence in 1945, and this degree of consistent control is not seen elsewhere in post-WWII Germany. Yet while Bavaria overall continually elects members from the CSU, this is not the case in its larger cities such as Munich or Nuremberg, where mayors more often come from the Social Democratic Party. The reasons for this are similar to those we see in the United States, where the larger cities, such as New York or Washington, DC, also tend to be more liberal. Munich is a very international and diverse city that likely has a different world perspective than the more rural and conservative regions of Bavaria. Munich is also a city of students, with multiple universities (each several times the size of Georgetown), and younger generations are almost universally known for having a more liberal outlook than those before them.
Yet even though the CSU has received great support from Bavaria over the past several decades, in the latest election this past September, they did not receive a majority of the votes in the Bavarian state election and must select a coalition partner with whom to govern. This is the first time they have be unable to gain a majority in half a century. Although this may be just a minor fluke in their record, this could also show that the secularization of the world is finally taking a small toll on the last powerful religious party in Germany.
The strong religious heritage of the CSU has not worked against the party's popularity, but rather it seems to have supported it to the level of power it exercises today. The CSU has been in charge of the Bavarian government nearly every year since it officially came into existence in 1945, and this degree of consistent control is not seen elsewhere in post-WWII Germany. Yet while Bavaria overall continually elects members from the CSU, this is not the case in its larger cities such as Munich or Nuremberg, where mayors more often come from the Social Democratic Party. The reasons for this are similar to those we see in the United States, where the larger cities, such as New York or Washington, DC, also tend to be more liberal. Munich is a very international and diverse city that likely has a different world perspective than the more rural and conservative regions of Bavaria. Munich is also a city of students, with multiple universities (each several times the size of Georgetown), and younger generations are almost universally known for having a more liberal outlook than those before them.
Yet even though the CSU has received great support from Bavaria over the past several decades, in the latest election this past September, they did not receive a majority of the votes in the Bavarian state election and must select a coalition partner with whom to govern. This is the first time they have be unable to gain a majority in half a century. Although this may be just a minor fluke in their record, this could also show that the secularization of the world is finally taking a small toll on the last powerful religious party in Germany.
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