A left-turn by the German Catholic Church is unlikely to resurrect Catholicism in the country, as Germany’s progressive Synodal Path seemingly draws the wrong conclusions about why Catholics are abandoning the faith. The Synodal Path comprises a series of conferences of the German Catholic Church to discuss many questions. A majority at a conference in February endorsed women’s ordination, same-sex partnerships getting a public blessing, reforming teachings on sexual ethics, and allowing married priests.
The Synodal Path seemingly got another boost this week after it was revealed that most German Catholics back abortion. A survey conducted by INSA Consulere on behalf of Die Tagespost asked responders if it is good that the Pope and Church speak against abortion. Just 17 per cent agreed, compared to 58 per cent who opposed it. This can be contrasted in Poland where data from one Kantar poll found 62 per cent of Poles support abortion only in certain circumstances.
The INSA Consulere poll is hardly shocking, however. German Catholics have been trending liberal for some time, much like Catholics in the rest of western Europe. Indeed, what the Pew Research Center discovered with regards to a divide on social values across Europe – which is effectively split now between a progressive west and a conservative east – is also mirrored among the Continent’s Catholics, with US Catholics basically trending along with western European Catholics.
According to Pew: “In Western Europe, large majorities of Catholics said in 2017 that they support legal same-sex marriage. That was the case in the Netherlands (92%), the United Kingdom (78%), France (74%) and Germany (70%). Same-sex marriage is legal in most of the Western European countries surveyed.” Pew found, however, that “in almost all of the Central and Eastern European countries surveyed by the Center in 2015 and 2016, most Catholics oppose same-sex marriage”. This included “Nine-in-ten Catholics in Ukraine” who “said same-sex marriage should be illegal, as did 66% of Catholics in Hungary and 62% of Catholics in Poland.” Moreover, the majority of “nations in Central and Eastern Europe do not allow legal same-sex unions”.
The data for general acceptance of same-sex partnerships is more ambiguous, but the trend lines are also clear. In Germany, for instance, 93 per cent of Catholics are supportive. Figures for the UK and US were 86 per cent and 76 per cent, respectively. This drops to 48 per cent in Hungary, 46 per cent in the Czech Republic, and 45 per cent in Poland. Given such numbers, one could see why the Synodal Path assumes a progressive turn by the Church in Germany will save Catholicism.
But, if so, why has Protestantism faced the same fate of decline in western Europe (and the Anglosphere) – even with its more liberal ideals – while in central and eastern Europe, with its conservative-nationalism and traditionalist clergy, the Catholic Church has roared back to life? According to data from the German bishops’ conference, at least 359,000 Catholics left the Church in 2021, a jump from 221,390 in 2020. But in 2021, 228,000 Protestants also quit their faith in Germany, up from 60,000 in 2020. While fifteen years ago, 61 per cent of Germans belonged to either a Catholic or Protestant church, today only about 26 per cent of Germans are registered as Catholics, with 23.7 per cent registered as Protestants.
Protestantism’s liberalism did not save the faith in Germany. The same fate has befallen the Anglican and Episcopalian Communions in the English-speaking world. By contrast, traditionalist Evangelical Protestantism has seen a sharp uptake, not least in Latin America, where it has benefitted from the Catholic Church’s turn towards social justice. As reported by DW, according to Francisco Borba Ribeiro Neto, of the Catholic University of Sao Paulo, the rise of Evangelical Christians is a consequence of a religious rural population taking refuge in more conservative Evangelical churches as they encountered a more permissive Catholic urban landscape. According to Borba Neto: “The Catholic discourse focuses more on social issues, the rights of the poorest in society”, while “the Evangelical discourse – and particularly that of the neo-Pentecostal churches – concentrates on moral values.” Likewise, according to Ricardo Ismael, of the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, neo-Pentecostal churches “concern themselves with moral values, fight against the lack of security in cities and call for an end to the welfare state”.
Meanwhile, just as Catholicism has roared back to life after communism in conservative countries like Poland, so Orthodox Christianity has roared back to life in countries like Bulgaria, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. The implication is that where Christianity holds firm it retains the faithful, while wider trends in society seem to have a huge impact on whether religiosity holds. Can it be mere coincidence that Catholic attitudes on same-sex marriage align closely with general social attitudes across Europe?
Despite this, the Synodal Path is pressing ahead and, this week, perhaps got another shot in the arm. As reported by Crux, in a report on a national consultation, German bishops stated a desire for greater inclusion in the Church of women and laypeople, as well as those who disagree on moral teachings. The report summarises the conclusions of the Synodal Path sent to the Synod of Bishops ahead of a Synod of Bishops on Synodality next year.
The report notes that Catholics who have different views on same-sex marriage, contraception, and abortion often feel “marginalised”. The German bishops said reports from dioceses indicate that those who have left the Church and “who are excluded from church offices or ministries” – including women and married men – also feel marginalised, as well as those who “do not belong to the educated middle class”, such as migrants and the poor. It also said Catholics want the Church to be more engaged in social justice, poverty, climate change, and migration.
But, are the wrong conclusions simply being drawn? If liberalism could save Catholicism in countries like Germany, why has it not saved Protestantism from decline? Why did a focus on social justice not help the Church in Latin America? Why, also, has a conservative position helped the Church in central and eastern Europe, with traditionalist Protestantism wining new converts in the Americas? This is not to say there is no room for reform and compassion, but Protestantism has not been saved by its liberalism and nor will German Catholicism. The Synodal Path is drawing the wrong conclusions.
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