Press Release
PROTESTANT PARLIAMENTARIANS NOT PREDOMINANTLY LEFT-LEANING
Press release dated April 28, 2021
According to researchers, Protestant members of parliament have historically spanned the entire political spectrum and are by no means predominantly left-leaning. “The cliché of the bearded clergyman at anti-nuclear protests, for example, needs to be revised. While party affiliation has shifted slightly toward a more social-democratic and green orientation over the past 170 years, it would be an exaggeration to speak of a red-green conversion in the spirit of the 1968 movement,” explain social ethicist Prof. Dr. Arnulf von Scheliha and theologian Uta Elisabeth Hohmann. They are conducting research on the parliamentary activity of Protestant theologians from the 19th century to the present. They recently presented initial findings at a conference hosted by the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” in cooperation with the Centre for Religion and Modernity (CRM) and the Institute for Ethics and Related Social Sciences (IfES) at the University of Münster.
Another key finding: Protestants were initially monarchist in orientation but developed conceptual models early on to reconcile their beliefs with democratic ideals. “During periods of political upheaval, Protestant theologians have been particularly active in parliament, although no clear specialization in policy fields is evident.” One striking trend is the disproportionately high share of women at the federal level, while male theologians continue to dominate in state parliaments.
The researchers also share their findings in Episode 4 of the “Religion and Politics” research podcast, part of the Cluster of Excellence’s themed year “Belonging and Exclusion.” Their extensive analysis of rich historical data further reveals: “Over time, political Protestantism has been represented across the full party spectrum—from predominantly liberal in the German Empire to increasingly nationalist and Christian-conservative in the Weimar Republic, and more social-democratic and green in recent decades.” Of course, exceptions exist: There were Social Democratic Protestants even in the German Empire, and today, theologically trained parliamentarians can be found in some state parliaments representing the AfD. While early liberalism has significantly declined, it has not disappeared entirely. “What has remained constant is that the full political spectrum is covered,” Hohmann explains. According to both researchers, this reflects a broader societal learning process regarding democracy. Protestantism, too, has taken a long path toward accepting democracy and pluralism. “Today we tend to associate skepticism toward democracy more with the Catholic Church than with the Protestant,” Hohmann adds. “That cliché should be discarded.”
The "TheoParl" (Theological Parliamentarians) database, initiated by Hohmann and von Scheliha, currently lists around 560 entries and aims to provide a comprehensive statistical overview of parliamentary members at both state and federal levels. To be included in “TheoParl,” individuals must have completed a degree in Protestant theology and hold a democratically elected mandate. According to the researchers, these strict criteria make long-term analysis possible, with the goal of documenting all theological parliamentarians since 1848. The results of their quantitative and qualitative analysis are drawn from diverse sources such as parliamentary directories, party archives, and personal estates.
Highest Numbers of Protestant Parliamentarians During Times of Upheaval
One key example of a political turning point with a high number of Protestant parliamentarians is the late 19th century: The social question—emerging from population growth and industrialization—motivated pastors across party lines to engage politically. Another notable case is the first freely elected 10th People’s Chamber of East Germany (Volkskammer) in 1990, in which 8% of members had a theological background. These theologians had already encountered democratic practices in their church work and were well equipped, both rhetorically and conceptually, for parliamentary activity. In the field of dealing with the legacy of dictatorship, East German "TheoParl" members were especially in demand.
While no clear specialization by policy area was observed, there was a slight tendency toward education and social issues. “In the Reichstag, social policy was the main focus,” explains Uta Elisabeth Hohmann. “But ultimately, theological parliamentarians are active in all areas—including international affairs, security, economics, and finance.” The policy interests of Protestant parliamentarians in the modern Bundestag are also balanced.
Among theological parliamentarians, several well-known figures stand out. When the Green Party entered the Bundestag in 1983, Pastor Antje Vollmer rose to a position in the Presidium. Other notable theological parliamentarians include Susanne Kastner (SPD, mandate from 1989–2013), Peter Hinze (CDU, 1990–2017), and former Federal President Joachim Gauck (Alliance 90/Greens, 1990). The database has also turned up some curious findings—for example, Frank Richter, a Saxon state parliament member and originally a Roman Catholic priest, switched denominations twice and changed political parties once.
More than half of the parliamentarians previously served in pastoral roles, with teaching as the second most common profession. Others came from academia or journalism. “Thanks to our broad definition of theology, our study includes women as parliamentarians from an early point, even though they were only allowed to study theology after the end of the German Empire and were still barred from church office,” von Scheliha explains. In the current Bundestag, women make up 44% of “TheoParl” members—well above the average of about 30% for all parliamentarians. This trend is also observable at the national level throughout history: The proportion of Protestant female parliamentarians often exceeds that of women in the general parliamentary population.
(apo/vvm)
