Earlier in Germany’s history, there were many different religions inhabiting the country.

Although most tribes in Germany did not follow exactly the same religion, all did follow
different variations of pre-Christian religions. When Martin Luther created Lutheranism in 1517,
the Germans then all began to divide amongst each other in different religions throughout the
country of Germany. Then, in 1555, the Peace of Augsburg gave the idea that the country
should all follow the religion of their leader rather than all believing in what they each wanted.
Thus, the south and west became Roman Catholic and the east and north became Protestant.
Christianity became the most widely followed religion in Germany. After World War I,
everyone in Germany was low because of the restraints put on them. This is when Adolf Hitler
created the false interpretation that convinced the Germans to place blame on the Jewish
people of Germany, in regard to the tragedies of World War I. Hitler created much religious
tension in Germany’s history, he from then on promoted only Christianity and banned anybody
from practicing any other religion worshipping in all of Germany.
As stated previously, Christianity is the number 1 followed religion in Germany. With
this, most sacred places are in Jerusalem. A number one visited site is where, according to the
Christian religion, where was born: in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. This site was
built over where He was born and is the oldest church in relation to Christianity. One other site
is the Jordan River In Jordan, where Christ was baptized. There are a few sacred places in
Germany as well. One of them is the Aachen Cathedral. It is of religious importance because it is
one of the oldest churches in Germany.
In the 20th century, the German government was involved deeply with religion- given
the action of Adolf Hitler and the religious tensions between Christianity which was seen as the
only and best option and Judaism, which was heavily discriminated against. Although now
Germany is not a religious state anymore, they are still suffering from the actions of those
before them. Hitler became a dictator and completely dismissed any diversity within the
country and prosecuted thousands of people because of their religious beliefs. So, today,
Germany’s government is not involved with church nor religion, but they will never forget their
countries past problems with involvements of church and state.
Germany has gone through so much in regard to religion, government, and the people
within its walls. We know that the majority of Germans identify as Christians, and I cannot help
but feel that this lack of diversity within the country is mainly due to the tragedies that
occurred in the 20th century with Hitler and the concentration camps that he awfully created.
So although I love seeing the country of Germany- I do hope that one day it’s people are
different in a way where we should not forget the tragedies that occurred, but set them aside
for a better country to prevail.
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Editors, H. (2009, October 14). The Holocaust. Retrieved February 26, 2019, from
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust

Five facts about state and religion. (2018, June 15). Retrieved February 26, 2019, from
https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/politics/state-and-religion-in-germany-the-five-most-
important-facts

Religion in Germany. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2019, from

https://germanculture.com.ua/germany-facts/religion-in-germany/

Sacred Destinations. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2019, from http://www.sacred-

destinations.com/germany/aachen-cathedral

Wallace-Hadrill, J. M., & Elkins, T. H. (n.d.). Germany. Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/Religion