Most German chancellors have been followers of a Christian church. German society has been affected by a Catholic-Protestant divide since the Protestant Reformation, and the same effect is visible in this list of German chancellors. It is largely dominated by Catholics and Protestants as these remain the main confessions in the country.
The current German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is Catholic.
Details Most of Germany's chancellors have been either Protestants or Catholics. A significant portion of Protestant chancellors belonged to the Prussian Union of Churches, which united the Reformed and Lutheran confessions throughout the Kingdom of Prussia and was in force since 1817. Some Catholic chancellors came from the Catholic Centre Party. The Christian Democratic Union, a party of both Catholics and Protestants, produced both kinds of chancellors. One chancellor, namely Philipp Scheidemann, was Reformed (Calvinist).Scheidemann, Philipp Heinrich
Although there were some religious sceptic chancellors, most never officially renounced their faith and were given a Christian funeral. Hermann Müller, a Social Democrat heavily influenced by his father, an advocate of Ludwig Feuerbach's views, is the only one notable for not having been a member of any confession at all.
As some chancellors' views are uncertain or cause confusion among researchers, their official affiliation to a church is mentioned. Due to the German church tax system, legal membership in a church that has the right to collect taxes is officially registered and certain information on this status is available. Actual worldviews are not known for some chancellors; for others, they may differ from the belief system of the church of which they were legal members, as is the case e.g. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. A further link to information on their worldviews is given where available, but the absence of such a mention does not mean that other chancellors’ views were necessarily in line with the teachings of their church. For issues about Nazi stance on religion, see Religion in Nazi Germany, Religious aspects of Nazism, and Religious views of Adolf Hitler.
By term North German Confederation (1867–1871) NameTermLegal affiliation1Otto von Bismarck1867–1871Protestant
German Reich (1871–1945) NameTermLegal affiliation during office and notes on belief German Empire (1871–1918)1Otto von Bismarck1871–1890 Affiliation: ProtestantDeutsche Biographie: Otto von Bismarck2Leo von Caprivi1890–1894 Affiliation: ProtestantDeutsche Biographie: Leo von Caprivi3Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst1894–1900 Affiliation: CatholicDeutsche Biographie: Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst4Bernhard von Bülow1900–1909 Affiliation: ProtestantDeutsche Biographie: Bernhard von Bülow5Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg1909–1917 Affiliation: ProtestantDeutsche Biographie: Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg6Georg Michaelis1917 Affiliation: ProtestantDeutsche Biographie: Georg Michaelis7Georg von Hertling1917–1918 Affiliation: CatholicDeutsche Biographie: Georg von Hertling8Max von Baden1918 Affiliation: ProtestantDeutsche Biographie: Max von Baden Weimar Republic (1918–1933)9Friedrich Ebert1918–1919 Affiliation: NoneBaptised Catholic, but later (before 1912) officially left the denomination.Federal Archives, files of the Reich chancellery, Friedrich Ebert's death10Philipp Scheidemann1919 Affiliation: ProtestantDeutsche Biographie: Philipp Scheidemann (reformed)11Gustav Bauer1919–1920 Affiliation: NoneUnaffiliated to any recognised religion at least from 1912 to 1924. Buried in a Protestant cemetery.See parliamentary handbooks downloadable here; for the burial see: "Gemeinde Glienicke/Nordbahn: Schon fast in Vergessenheit geraten".12Hermann Müller1920 Affiliation: NoneDeutsche Biographie: Hermann Müller13Constantin Fehrenbach1920–1921 Affiliation: CatholicKonrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Constantin Fehrenbach14Joseph Wirth1921–1922 Affiliation: CatholicKonrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Joseph Wirth15Wilhelm Cuno1922–1923 Affiliation: CatholicDeutsche Biographie: Wilhelm Cuno16Gustav Stresemann1923 Affiliation: ProtestantDeutsche Biographie: Gustav Stresemann17Wilhelm Marx1923–1925 Affiliation: CatholicDeutsche Biographie: Wilhelm Marx18Hans Luther1925–1926 Affiliation: ProtestantDeutsche Biographie: Hans Luther19(17)Wilhelm Marx1926–1928 Affiliation: Catholic20(12)Hermann Müller1928–1930 Affiliation: None21Heinrich Brüning1930–1932 Affiliation: CatholicUniversity of Rostock: Inscription of Heinrich Brüning as a student22Franz von Papen1932 Affiliation: CatholicDeutsche Biographie: Franz von Papen23Kurt von Schleicher1932–1933 Affiliation: ProtestantDeutsche Biographie: Kurt von Schleicher Nazi Germany (1933–1945)24Adolf Hitler1933–1945 Affiliation: CatholicDeutsche Biographie: Adolf HitlerA determined opponent of the Catholic faith, see Nazi attitudes towards Christianity and Religious views of Adolf Hitler25Joseph Goebbels1945 Affiliation: CatholicDeutsche Biographie: Joseph GoebbelsA determined opponent of the Catholic faith, see Nazi attitudes towards Christianity. Claims in his diary that Hitler forbade him to disaffiliate for tactical political reasons.26Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk1945 Affiliation: ProtestantDeutsche Biographie: Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present) NameTermLegal affiliation during office and notes on belief1Konrad Adenauer1949–1963 Affiliation: CatholicKonrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Konrad Adenauer2Ludwig Erhard1963–1966 Affiliation: ProtestantKonrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Ludwig Erhard3Kurt Georg Kiesinger1966–1969 Affiliation: CatholicKonrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Kurt Georg Kiesinger4Willy Brandt1969–1974 Affiliation: ProtestantDer Spiegel, 21/1960: Anti-Brandt-Feldzug: Reise in die Vergangenheit5Helmut Schmidt1974–1982 Affiliation: ProtestantKommission für Geschichte des Parlamentarismus und der politischen Parteien: Die Volksvertretung 1946–1972He is known to have had a distant relationship with religion, having no faith in divine justice.See: Deutschlandfunk Kultur: Ein Urprotestant mit schwindendem Gottvertrauen6Helmut Kohl1982–1998 Affiliation: CatholicKonrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Helmut Kohl7Gerhard Schröder1998–2005 Affiliation: ProtestantKath.net: In Schröders Kabinett ist jeder zweite Minister evangelischHe did not use the religious form of his oath of office.8Angela Merkel2005–2021 Affiliation: ProtestantKonrad Adenauer Foundation: Biographical entry for Angela MerkelShe is the daughter of a pastor and has regularly affirmed her Christian beliefs.9Olaf Scholz2021–2025 Affiliation: NoneBundestag: Biographical entry for Olaf ScholzIn spite of having disaffiliated, Scholz has claimed that he has completely read the Bible and that Christianity has left a clear mark on who he is.See: Sonntagsblatt: Wie religiös ist die neue Bundesregierung? Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz. He did not use the religious form of his oath of office.10Friedrich Merz2025–present Affiliation: CatholicBundestag: Biographical entry for Friedrich Merz
Affiliation totals AffiliationProtestant16Catholic14None4 a. Including two determined opponents of the Catholic faith, Hitler and Goebbels (see Nazi attitudes towards Christianity).
See also List of prime ministers of Canada by religious affiliation Religious affiliations of presidents of Lebanon Religious affiliations of prime ministers of the Netherlands Religious affiliations of presidents of the United States
References