Evangelical Working Group of the CDU/CSU
The Evangelical Working Group (EWC) is a specialized agency of the CDU and CSU. She is the representative of the Protestant members and serves to foster dialogue with the Protestant churches.
Objectives
Within the Union parties, there is a structural overweight Catholic members. Especially in the early years of the Federal Republic of denominational differences still played an important role. Therefore, the IOC pursued by his work mainly three objectives: on the one hand, wanted the Protestant Union politicians act on Protestant voters and there to improve the electoral prospects of the party. So should total the interdenominational character of the Union be more visible in public. On the other hand, the maintenance of sectarian proportional representation has been pursued within the Union parties. In addition, the organization also served as the self-assurance of the Protestants in a predominantly Catholic environment. Today the IOC sees his tasks is to offer to act as a contact for the evangelical churches and related Protestant voters a forum.
History
The EWC was established in 1952 at the instigation of Hermann Ehlers in Siegen. The specific occasion was the debate between Konrad Adenauer and Gustav Heinemann, the question of rearmament. Heinemann had resigned as Minister of the Interior and seemed the CDU through the establishment of the All-German People 's Party ( GVP ) seriously challenge. He was also President of the Synod of the EKD and thus one of the leading evangelical representatives in Germany. This alarmed the Protestant Union politicians. The failure of the All-German People's Party in the general election in 1953 was seen in the Union as a success of the newly formed EWC. In time the chairman Gerhard Schröder of the EWC received widely attention since Schröder was considered a potential successor to Adenauer. With the increasing secularization since the late 1960s there was a change in the self-understanding of the EWC. Gone hand in hand This is a relative loss of importance of the organization. Since no politician Gerhard Schröder of the Union has taken over the chairman office, which already had a significant influence at the time of his presidency. Since 2004, gives the IOC the Hermann- Ehlers Medal to figures from the church and politics, which have earned merit in a special way in evangelical responsibility before God and man. 2007 winner was the President of the Council of the EKD Bishop Wolfgang Huber.