Non-denominational
Konfessionslosigkeit denotes that a person belongs to no denomination. More generally we speak of no religious affiliation ( NE ).
- 2.1 Germany
The concept
The term Confession (Latin confessio, Confession ',' commitment ') referred to in today's parlance, a subgroup within a religion (originally only the Christian ), which differs in doctrine, organization, or practices of other subgroups. Meanwhile, we also speak of Islamic or Jewish faith. Members of non-Christian religious communities are still not commonly referred to as " non-denominational ".
" Persons who do not belong to a state- registered religious confessional community neither a legally recognized church or religious society, considered as persons without commitment ( NE ). "
People belonging to any faith community, are often atheists or agnostics, but can also other group members or not.
In Western and Central Europe has been around since the 19th century, the trend of increasing non-denominational.
Konfessionslosigkeit with or without religion
In part, the term is used in the sense of no religion. However, some consider such use of the term "not always true ," since there are people who belonged to no denomination, but which were nevertheless religious. (This would see themselves as non-denominational or non-denominational, but not as " no religion " on )
In the era of National Socialism was introduced by decree of the Reich Ministry of the Interior of 26 November 1936 on the notification and personnel records of the registration offices and the staff papers, the term believer in God. As a believer in God was one who had turned away from the recognized religious communities, however, was not without faith.
Criticism of the concept
The use of the term is disputed religious affiliation. Organizations such as the Humanist Association of Germany or the Giordano Bruno Foundation instead use the term " non-denominational free" because the suffix " -less" wrongly expressing the lack of something. Having no confession in the traditional, faith-based sense, is not a deficiency. Therefore, the term ' non-denominational free " content more accurately.
National
Germany
A formal church exit is possible only since 1847 in Germany. Currently in Germany, a state church law applies from the Weimar Constitution, influenced by the Weimar Church compromise and includes extensive state church treaties, concordats and regulations, particularly in institutions of social work in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity.
For the representation of the unchurched in Germany have organizations such as the Humanist Association of Germany ( HVD ) or the Federation of Spiritual Freedom Bavaria formed. However, the various associations have a relatively low level of organization. The HVD had about 2013 little more than 20,000 members, others, like the free-thinkers, only a few thousand mostly of retirement age contained members. Traditionally, such organizations originated from a deliberately anti-clerical separation from the churches and a promotion of cremation mid to late 19th century. The combined now under the umbrella organization of free philosophical communities various free religious, monistic and unitary currents were playing at religion far Socialists as a role such as the German Unitarian Religious Community was also nationalist and anti-Semitic motivation. A stand-alone DDR Freethinkers Association was founded in 1989, mainly at the instigation of the GDR State Security. The majority of the unchurched in today's Federal Republic is obvious to any specific organization.
In Germany, the denomination of workers is recognized nationally for the determination of church tax to be collected. In addition, the denomination is one of the demographic characteristics that are ( for example, in a census ) requested in the context of empirical studies. In 1970, the number of 3.9 % unchurched in the Federal Republic of Germany was by the Federal Statistical Office determined (Protestant 49%, Roman Catholic 44.6 %, Muslim 1.3%). According to the research group worldviews in Germany the proportion of the population increased without denomination to 1987 to 11.4%. In the wake of reunification, the proportion rose to 22.4% in the united Germany. The proportion of people without denomination in the new Länder was significantly higher, since there - according to statistics - belong to any denomination between 65% and 80 % of the population. The reason for this high value the atheist orientation of the GDR, the professing Christians had to flee the republic as other motivated for leaving the church. Meanwhile, the unchurched have grown from 32.3% in 2004 to 36.6 % last in 2013, and represent approximately 29.6 million people compared with the two national churches, the Roman Catholic 30.3 %, and the EKD dar. with 28.9 %, today a comparable group in the population
Active religious policy was little attention or operated due to the long prevailing postulate an increasing secularization. In the recent past there was a re-formation of a religious constitutional law at European level. Internationally and within the European framework is a re- increasing importance and reformation of religion (s ) in a post-secular society stated. The Protestant Association for ideological matters stated some associations, so the HVD, over others, such as the free-thinkers referred to as outdated and rather lethargic, a remarkable, especially social work. The information gathered in the HVD "new" free-thinker no longer require therefore the radical separation of church and state (or belief) in the sense of a traditional secularism, but claim the specific German government support of the state for religious communities for themselves. Among other things, in Berlin the HVD has a number of social institutions and wants to ecclesial pastoral care in the armed forces build up analogously a kind of " humanistic counseling ". In some states, associations of confessionless own so the status of a public corporation.