EKD Synod in Würzburg: How the Church wants to strengthen democracy

Evangelical Church and Democracy More courage - with less and less money As of: November 11, 2026 • 1:07 p.m

Against misanthropy: The Protestant Church wants to strengthen democracy through educational work and meeting spaces, especially in rural areas. This was decided by the synod in Würzburg. But money and staff are becoming scarcer.

A separate, positive narrative for democracy instead of simply working on extreme positions and parties - that is the goal of the Evangelical Church. At the meeting of the church parliament, the Synod, in Würzburg, the 128 delegates passed a corresponding key motion with the title "Despite all this: faith, hope, love - strengthening democracy through the church and diakonia".

It is intended to give the regional churches orientation. There are no party political positions to be found there. Instead, it's about educational work - and above all about the question of what role the church itself plays in defending democracy.

German Unity Day is celebrated in Bremen. more

The synod is thus building on what the social psychologist Harald Welzer had already told church parliamentarians on Saturday: “Democracy is analogue”. She needs spaces for respectful discourse. And according to Welzer, the church can offer exactly such spaces. The lead proposal therefore talks about meeting spaces, especially in rural and structurally weak regions.

This is formulated as an appeal, because the Evangelical Church in Germany is organized federally; in the end, the individual regional churches have to decide. However, this is where the tension becomes apparent: It is clear that money for real estate and staff is becoming scarcer - and not just among Protestants. Priorities must be set, a struggle that is becoming increasingly tough in the regional Protestant church parliaments.

Holocaust survivors react in shock to the clear AfD election victory in Saxony-Anhalt. more

It is all the more good for the delegates when the Federal President encourages the church. Frank-Walter Steinmeier is himself a convinced Protestant. If he had not been elected head of state in 2017, he would probably have presided over the church congress in Dortmund as president in 2019. Steinmeier speaks almost preachily of the fact that the civil community needs the healing demands, and occasionally contradictions, of an active Christian community. It is also required when it comes to protecting democracy, the rule of law and human dignity.

The Federal President also addresses the weakening of the churches. This secularization not only has consequences for the two institutions responsible for salvation, but for society as a whole. “But promises of salvation are precisely what make fundamentalist, populist and extremist currents so strong,” he said. "Promises of salvation that seduce so many who no longer feel addressed by the churches." This is also why the head of state calls for more cooperation between the churches when it comes to preserving democracy.

After the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, there are calls for democracy to be protected. more

A look at the regions shows how much political developments shape the synod. The past state elections and their consequences are present. Magdeburg regional bishop Bettina Schlauraff describes what the pressure actually looks like. She reports how we had to fend off “right-wing influencers with umbrellas from our young people” and how schools, out of anticipatory obedience, no longer used the local church to award their certificates. But there should not be neutrality at any price: "Do we as a church belong to a political camp?" asks the regional bishop, only to then answer herself: "Yes, to that of human dignity."

The council chairwoman of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Hamburg Bishop Kirsten Fehrs, repeatedly emphasizes that the AfD's positions are not compatible with the gospel - without naming the party: "Election successes may change power relations, but they do not change the incompatibility of misanthropy with the gospel." When asked about a ban on the AfD, Fehrs spoke out in favor of examining it: "I am committed to ensuring that the decisive state authorities take this into account."

The AfD is establishing increasingly closer ties with new right-wing and Christian actors. more

But one thing is speeches and sermons, the other is concrete interaction with party officials who are involved in the church. The main motion states that “group-related misanthropy” and “ethnic nationalism” are incompatible with church offices or activities with responsibility. The regional churches must regulate how this is implemented locally; guidance should help them with this. At the same time, Fehrs emphasizes that there should be no general control of attitudes. Attitude and actions in the specific office are decisive.

It is important to those responsible that these standards do not only apply to one party. With a view to the debate about anti-Semitic tendencies among some members of the Berlin Left Party, Fehrs said that there is no question "that a party that wants to take on government responsibility must clearly differentiate itself from people who represent anti-Semitic positions."

In the Union of all places, there is increasing debate about how much influence the church can have. more

Don't give up the field to the enemies of liberal democracy, is how the council chairwoman of the Evangelical Church puts it. That is the message that the Protestants want to send from their meeting in Würzburg. And at the same time it should be a message of hope. Kirsten Fehrs points to election results in midterm elections in the USA and Hungary, which show that with continuous grassroots work it is possible to counteract the power of autocratic politicians. “Such important signs of hope that can also give us wind under our wings.”

This topic in the program: tagesschau.de | EKD26 Synod discusses strengthening democracy | 11/11/2026 | 11:44 am