Archbishop Willing to Forgo Church Tax from AfD Voters
German Catholic bishops have warned voters against supporting the AfD party before regional elections, with Archbishop Koch stating the Church must risk losing members over its opposition to the party.
According to Junge Freiheit, Heiner Wilmer, Bishop of Münster and chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, called on voters in Saxony-Anhalt to “sharpen their consciences” ahead of the state election. He told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the AfD’s migration policy violates Christian values of charity and human dignity, adding that “migrants do not disturb.”
Heiner Koch, Archbishop of Berlin, reinforced the anti-AfD position in an interview with the Catholic News Agency (KNA), demanding a “clear stance for democracy.” When asked directly whether the Church must risk losing AfD voters through its political positioning, Koch did not hesitate.
Archbishop Declares Church Must Take Political Risk
Koch explicitly confirmed the Church’s willingness to alienate voters for political reasons. We must take this risk, he stated, arguing that the matter transcends electoral outcomes and concerns fundamental values. He declared that God’s love is incompatible with volkisch nationalism, a position from which he will not retreat.
The interventions come as German churches have escalated actions against individuals connected to the AfD. According to Junge Freiheit, churches have recently pushed people out of Christian volunteer positions if someone in their personal circle has run for the AfD. In one case, a woman who volunteered for the evangelical church for 30 years was affected because her partner stood as an AfD candidate. In another instance, a long-serving Diakonie employee was dismissed for running as an AfD candidate. Both cases occurred in Lower Saxony.
Eastern Germany Blamed for Democratic Misunderstanding
Berlin’s Archbishop Koch maintained the Church’s hard line against the AfD and its supporters, offering his analysis of the party’s growth. He suggested that people in eastern Germany may have developed the impression that democracy automatically and permanently brings greater growth, prosperity, and opportunity. However, he argued, democracy requires active participation and engagement to become truly alive.
Koch cited declining party membership as a second factor contributing to the AfD’s rise, expressing alarm at the weak membership numbers in political parties and associations across the country.
The public interventions by senior Catholic prelates represent an escalation of church involvement in partisan politics ahead of German regional elections, with religious authorities explicitly telling believers which party they should not support at the ballot box.
With information from Junge Freiheit
