From Pagan Roots to Protestant Reforms: A Religious History of Germany

As of today, Christianity is the most dominant religion in Germany, with a high rate of atheism in the East. This, however, has not always been the case, as there have been notably other religions and theological expressions practiced throughout Germany’s history, such as Norse Paganism, the Protestant catechism, and all the controversies that followed. All of these, in total, have contributed to the modern-day German cultural hegemony.

The first of these religions is German Paganism, which dates from the Bronze Age (2000-500 BC). Paganism was a polytheistic religion, worshipping more than one god, most notably, in this case, the gods Odin, Thor, and Balder being but a few examples.

Pagan practices included ritual sacrifice, large feasts, and bloody traditions in combat, which would lead to many embellished stories and folklore, including their beliefs in elves, dwarfs, goblins, and giants – all of which contributed to the early German imagination.

Pagans practiced all the aforementioned rituals and traditions to please and appease their gods and eventually enter the afterlife upon their death. Of all, only a few were destined to spend the rest of eternity (until Ragnarok, the end times) with their greatest god, Odin.

Unfortunately for the Pagans, they would inevitably have to convert to Christianity, a religion rapidly spreading over the European continent, starting around the 4th century, and ending around the 10th century. The last remnants of Paganism would hold out farther north in Scandinavia, where it was harder to eliminate the old religion.

Overall, Norse Paganism provided a structure for the early Germans to abide by, and many people, not just Germans, still worship the Pagan deities and practice Pagan rituals today. Examples are Druids and Wiccans, and some neopagan groups even worship at temples to Roman gods.

Thor’s Fight with the Giants By: Marten Eskil Winge (Public Domain)

Early Christianity

After the decline of the Pagan religion in Germany, Christianity became the dominant religious institution, after it spread to the early Roman Empire.

This conversion from Paganism to Christianity in Germany can be credited to the Gothic preacher Ulfilas, who was born in Central Germany in 311, and spent much time in Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul, Turkey. He would then translate the Bible from Greek to Goth, thus spreading the word of Christ and his teachings farther into the depths of the European continent.

Even a couple of hundred years after the preachings and influential translations from Ulfilas, Paganism was still failry widespread within Germany. Due to this, Anglo-Saxon missionary Saint Boniface, in the 8th century AD, under the orders of Pope Gregory II, made it his life’s mission to further spread the Bible and the Lord’s word to still “unlearned” people. Here, he was remarkably successful in his mission, eventually converting many Pagans to the Christian faith and establishing many bishops in the region. Boniface’s work would be cut short, however, as he would later be killed by Pagans when he was reading scripture to converts on a Sunday.

In addition, formally established in the 12th century, the Teutonic Order – a knightly order during the Middle Ages – took firm root in Germany. In the 13th century, the Order invaded and conquered Prussia and converted it to Catholicism – yet another enormous influence of German Christianity.

After centuries of Christianity’s (Catholicism, to be more specific) spread across Europe and, notably in this case, Germany, there would be a great divide or catechism that would thus engulf not just Germany, but Europe as a whole.

Stuttgart Psalter, by an unknown artist, depicts Jesus Christ, in a 9th century Germanic illustration, as a noble warrior (Public Domain)

The Protestant Reformation

Germany was still steadfastly Catholic by the 16th century; however, by 1517, a German monk, fed up with the Church and what he viewed as its corruption, would irrevocably change German history, and world history for that matter, forever.

Before the Reformation, the Catholic Church held great sway in European society, including Germany after the exploits of Boniface. Most Germans were thus under the authority of the papacy, which included the option of buying and selling indulgences (the payment of money towards helping yourself or someone you know from suffering in Hell from sin). Many, however, afraid of ex-communication from the Church, did not protest against what some saw as “un-Biblical” and not within the confines of Christ’s teachings. These protests were brought to life when the German monk Martin Luther made history.

Born in the Holy Roman Empire in 1483, he was originally intent on a legal career until an incident in a storm where he would call out: “Help me, Saint Anne, and I will become a monk!”

He kept his vow and became a well-respected professor of theology and religion. After a visit to Rome, where he expected to see a shining, flourishing city, he instead saw much decadence among the populace and saw the Church leaders lining their pockets with money, especially from the before-mentioned sale of indulgences.

Anger and personal disgust at seeing the majority of the people in the heart of Christendom in impoverished conditions set him out to do something most would not dare to do, especially in his respectable condition: publish a written protest against the Church and the papacy itself. Thus, on October 31, 1517, according to popular tradition, Luther walked up to Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and nailed his popular 95 Thesis to the church’s door. His Thesis included many protestations on indulgences and the authority of the papacy:

“Any true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the church; and this is granted him by God, even without indulgence letters” – Martin Luther, 95 Thesis

Out of these protestations were born two of Luther’s key ideas: righteousness through faith alone and using the Bible (scripture) alone as the word of God. This, of course, angered the Church, who tried to burn all of Luther’s “heresies” and thus summoned him to the Diet of Worms (an assembly convened to judge Luther on his Thesis and other controversial works against the Church). Luther, despite the Church’s efforts to have him rescind his works, stood firm, and could not do so.

Even after all this chaos, Luther continued to leave his legacy after being kidnapped by supporters and hidden in a castle under a faux name: his translation of the Bible into German, as the old Gothic translation was sanguine. Indeed, as in much of Europe, the interpretation of scripture was up to Church authorities, and thus the bulk of the people were forced to follow said Church authorities.

Martin Luther’s effect on Germany and Christendom cannot be understated. His protestations against the Church and Pope, along with his translation of the Bible, made it so private individuals could make sense of the word of God on their own accord; thus, his followers made a new Christian denomination in his name (Lutheranism), and many other Protestant denominations would follow.

Martin Luther nailing his 95 Thesis on the church doors (Public Domain)

Post-Reformation Germany

The Reformation had a tremendous effect on Germany and Christendom, such as the Catholic backlash that occurred along with Christianity’s twisting by despotic forces.

In response to the chaos and disunity that Luther brought with his revolution, the Catholic Church instigated its own “Counter-Reformation” to combat Luther’s Protestant followers, notably the Council of Trent. These councils, ranging from the years 1545 and 1563, attempted to reform the Church (ironically like how Luther wanted to) from the inside, such as eliminating corruption, setting out the tenets of the Catholic faith, and making clear the connections between scripture and tradition.

Afterward, we see that, from the time of the Reformation up until the modern day, Lutheranism had a stronghold upon Germanic theology. Many individual Germans and family’s population had German Bibles (translated, again, by Luther), attended Protestant events, and engaged in popular Protestant traditions and ceremonies. Germany had entered a new age – and it remained for a couple of hundred years, until a new age, a new ‘Reich,’ would bear itself upon Germany.

Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Reich

During the reign of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Reich, from the early 1930s to the mid-1940s, Christianity was twisted to serve the fascist ideology of the Nazi Party. This is evident in the creation of German “Positive Christianity,” which was an effort to create a nationalistic German Christianity, with an emphasis on combatting the “Jewish materialist spirit” and upholding National Socialist doctrine to unite the country – made of mostly Christian Protestants – under the Reich.

The result of this was Christianity being practiced not for the sake of God and His reverence, but rather to serve the state and its ideological goals, with supporters of the Reich being mostly Protestant with a minority of Catholic support.

Also in the Reich, some Nazis tried to revitalize Nordic tradition and customs, which they viewed as the original religion of the German people. Pagan gods and symbolism were alluded to create a Nazi belief system supported by existing mythology. This, however, came into conflict with the tradition of Christianity at the time, which most Germans followed. Even today we see Neo-Nazis using old Viking runes and symbolism to represent their fascistic beliefs.

Nazi propaganda poster promoting Luther as an affiliate of the Nazi Reich. It states:

“Hitler’s fight and Luther’s teaching are the best defense for the German people” (facinghistory)

Statue of Luther in the ruins of Dresden in the aftermath of the second World War. (Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-60015-0002 / Giso Löwe / CC-BY-SA 3.0)

German Religion Today

Today, around 60% of Germans still identify as Christian – far below the number in past generations, with about a 30%-30% split between Catholics and Protestants. However, due to the secular Soviet Union and its occupation of East Germany during the Cold War, this left many in the Eastern provinces, where Protestantism was high to become atheists and secular-minded individuals. Even in this case they still celebrate classical Christian traditions such as Christmas and religious holy days. There is also, due to a rise in foreign immigration, a large influx of Muslims who are coming into Germany which contribute their religion to Germany’s cultural makeup.

Overall, through the thousands of years of its history, Germany has been a host to numerous faiths, traditions, and customs, all of which are evident in various parts of the German nation and spirit.

Predominant denominations in Germany as revealed by the 2022 Census: yellow: roman-catholic majority, violet: protestant majority, green: non-religious / unaffiliated plurality; dark: absolute majority. (Gretarsson, CC0)

Top Image: Naumberg Cathedral, a beautiful example of religious architecture    Source: RealPixelStreet /CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Walker Ramspott