An overview of Bavaria's denominational history
Article 4 of the Basic Law (the German constitution) guarantees the free exercise of religion in Germany. In this country, and particularly in Bavaria, the wars of religion were destructive. Here's a look back at how far we've come.
Little is known about the pagan beliefs and cults practiced in the regions that today make up Bavaria before the arrival of the Romans and before Christianization. The region around the Danube was populated by Celtic tribes and Germanic peoples, so we can assume that Celtic and Germanic deities were worshipped by Bavaria's earliest populations. In the 7th and 8th centuries, a number of missionaries from the west (Ireland, Scotland and the territories of present-day France) travelled through Bavaria to spread Christianity. Some of these evangelizers left their names in the collective consciousness, and we find them in many place names: Emmeram, Corbinian, Rupert. One of them, Kilian, born in Ireland, became Bishop of Würzburg and is known today as the Apostle of Franconia. In the Middle Ages, as in the rest of Western Europe, Bavarians founded monasteries and abbeys, which contributed to the development of the region: in particular, the monks helped to clear the forests. Some of these abbeys still exist today: Ettal, Andechs, Weihenstephaner, all famous for their beer. The Middle Ages also saw the construction of gigantic cathedrals. The finest example of medieval religious construction can be found in Regensburg, which boasts Bavaria's most impressive Gothic cathedral (see Dom Sankt-Peter).
In 1517, the publication of Martin Luther's 95 theses created an earthquake in Germany, and the Protestant Reformation also reached Bavaria and Franconia. From this point onwards, Germany was deeply and permanently divided between Protestant supporters (the majority in the north) and those who remained faithful to the Roman Catholic Church (the majority in the south). Some princes converted to the Reformed faith, while others chose to remain loyal to the emperor, who was deeply Catholic. This adversity between Catholics and Protestants was to be the source of many conflicts, and the Wars of Religion were to be devastating in Germany. In 1555, a compromise temporarily suspended hostilities between the Lutheran and Catholic states of the Holy Roman Empire: the Peace of Augsburg. This compromise was based on the principle of " cujus regio, ejus religio " ("to each region its religion"): princes were to choose the denomination of their subjects, and do everything in their power to ensure uniformity of worship in their lands. The Peace of Augsburg partly explains the division of the principalities into Catholic and Protestant states in the north: the princes of Franconia all embraced the Reformed faith. Only the episcopal principalities (Würzburg, Bamberg) remained Catholic.
Hostilities resumed in 1618 with the defenestration of Prague, leading to a war that lasted 30 years. During these thirty years of war, famine and epidemics, the territories of present-day Bavaria were ravaged, in turn by the Protestant Swedes and the Catholic Imperial troops. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 put an end to the conflict, but did not fundamentally change the religious landscape in Bavaria. The religious affiliation of a town had considerable consequences for its survival or demise.
Until the 18th century, the Catholic Counter-Reformation was vigorously pursued by the Wittelsbachs, who remained deeply Catholic. Duke Albert V (Albrecht) allowed the foundation of Jesuit colleges in Ingolstadt and Munich. His son and successor William V (Wilhelm) was also a key player in the Counter-Reformation in Bavaria. To demonstrate his commitment to preserving Catholicism, he had Munich's great St. Michael's Church built (see Michaelskirche).
In the north, on the other hand, the Protestant princes of Franconia were committed to welcoming the Huguenots who had left France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Christian-Ernest, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, seized the opportunity and had a new town built in Erlangen to accommodate these refugees.
Between 1802 and 1803, the Catholic Church's possessions were secularized: monastery property was expropriated in favor of the Bavarian state.
Christianity in Bavaria today
Today, Christians account for 65.4% of the Bavarian population, divided between Catholics (47.8%) and Protestants (17.6%). Again, there are disparities between town and country. In the diocese of Passau, the Catholic community accounts for 76% of the population. In Munich, by contrast, only 46% of the population identify themselves as Catholic. In 2010, scandals revealing acts of paedocriminality in the Church led many Germans to take steps to leave the Church.
Protestants are most numerous in Franconia, in the north of the Land. Across the three districts (Upper Franconia, Lower Franconia, Middle Franconia), the numerical ratio between Catholics and Protestants is fairly even. But there are differences here and there that can be explained by history: the regions located in the former sphere of influence of the episcopal principalities of Bamberg, Würzburg and Eichstätt are, almost by definition, Catholic today. By contrast, all the former territories of the Free Cities and Margraviates of Ansbach and Bayreuth are still Lutheran to this day.
Catholic and Protestant churches mark the Bavarian landscape with very different architectural styles. Protestant churches are said to be very sober. Catholic churches are often opulent, exuberant and baroque. But the difference is far more fundamental than just aesthetic and architectural. First and foremost, Protestants do not recognize the authority of the Pope. For Luther, the study of the Bible - " Sola Scriptura " - is far more important than the dogmas defined by ecclesiastical institutions. Unlike Catholics, Protestants disapprove of the veneration of saints. Another absolutely major difference lies in the ordination of priests and pastors. For Protestants, women can hold any ministry. In November 2021, a woman, Annette Kurschus, was appointed head of the EKD (Evangelische Kirche Deutschlands, Evangelical Church of Germany). And while the Church of Rome remains committed to the celibacy of priests, German pastors have long since started families.
On April 19, 2005, a Bavarian was elected Pope in Rome. The very conservative Joseph Ratzinger, born in 1927 in Marktl, Upper Bavaria, was Archbishop of Munich and Freising between 1977 and 1982, before being promoted to Cardinal-Bishop in 1993. In 2005, under the name Benedict XVI, he became the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church. There hasn't been a German pope since the 16th century!
Bavarian specialities: celebrations and pilgrimages
Fronleichnam, or Corpus Christi, is celebrated on a Thursday in early summer, after the first Sunday after Pentecost. It's a big event during which Catholics decorate their homes with birch branches and bring out their flags. Four altars are set up in the streets and covered with flowers. There's a grand procession where, under a canopy carried by several men, the priest or bishop holds high a golden monstrance containing a host. Altar boys and other Catholic organizations also take part in the procession. Fonleichnam is a public holiday in Bavaria, as it is in other Catholic-majority Länder.
Oberammergau is a small town in southern Bavaria. Every 10 years, it is famous for its Passion Play. Two young men from Oberammergau are chosen to take turns portraying Jesus on stage. Around half the town's inhabitants - Christians and non-Christians alike - are involved in preparing this amateur show, which attracts thousands of curious visitors from all over the world. For a year and a half, every man in town grows a beard to faithfully portray the Galileans of antiquity.
Bavaria boasts a number of pilgrimage sites, but one in particular stands out: Altötting. It is the best-known and most visited of all Bavarian pilgrimages. The Black Madonna in the Gnadenkapelle attracts over a million pilgrims a year.
The Cross and Bavaria
In June 2018, Bavaria's Minister-President, Markus Söder, wants to restore Bavaria's "historical and cultural" image, he says, by requiring all public buildings to decorate their entrance halls with a crucifix. The government-approved decree concerns around 1,100 institutions, including museums, schools, theaters and town halls. The "best way", according to the CSU, to prevent the rise of extreme right-wing populists, has been the subject of much debate and the subject of much gnashing of teeth... While it is known that Söder has had a cross installed in the Munich Chancellery, it is unclear whether the measure is being applied everywhere.
Judaism and Islam in Bavaria
There are still a few synagogues in Bavaria that escaped - at least in part - the destruction of 1938. They still bear witness to Jewish life and culture in Bavaria before the Holocaust: the synagogues of Ansbach and Augsburg spring to mind. Today, Jewish culture is most alive in Munich. In the 1990s, the immigration of large numbers of Russian Jews from the USSR and its satellite republics breathed new life into the Munich community. Two buildings in the heart of the city bear witness to this: the new, ultra-modern Ohel Jakob synagogue and, right next door, the Jüdisches Museum München, Munich's Jewish museum. Munich is currently planning the construction of a second, more liberal synagogue, to be designed by star architect Daniel Libeskind. Today, Bavarian Jews remain a tiny minority: in 1990, Bavaria had a community of 5,500 members. By 2019, they will number 18,000.
Islam, meanwhile, is becoming increasingly important in Bavaria, particularly in the major cities. Munich is home to several mosques, although for the time being there is no single representative building whose architecture has left its mark on the cityscape. Two new mosques are currently being planned in Munich. A study by the Federal Ministry of the Interior estimates the proportion of Muslims in Bavaria's total population at around 4% in 2008.
