Berlin parties are running differently for religious education before the election

Before the House of Representatives election in the capital, the top candidates of the Berlin parties have positioned themselves differently on religious education in schools. While the candidates from the CDU and SPD spoke out in favor of strengthening religious education at a panel discussion organized by the churches on Tuesday evening, the Greens and the Left stuck to the previous Berlin model of purely voluntary religious education.

The Protestant Bishop Christian Stäblein and the Catholic Archbishop Heiner Koch invited people to the ecumenical forum. It was titled "Berlin Votes! The Churches Invite".

The CDU candidate, Finance and Culture Senator Stefan Evers, said he preferred the Brandenburg model. The so-called subject L-E-R (lifestyle-ethics-religion) is taught there. However, students can opt out of this if they take part in a religious class. In Berlin, religion is not a regular subject; ethics is compulsory from the 7th grade onwards. Evers said he also welcomes Islamic religious education.

SPD leading candidate Steffen Krach explained that religion could make an important contribution to dialogue. He appeared open to strengthening religious education again. “In the situation we find ourselves in, we need strong churches,” he said.

Werner Graf (Greens) argued that it was not the time to have a “complete debate” about religious education. He spoke out in favor of strengthening voluntary lessons, for example that they should not take place at off-peak times. Left-wing candidate Elif Eralp also called for improved conditions for the current form of teaching.

AfD is not invited to the church podium

According to the organizers, the AfD was not invited because it does not represent church values such as charity and democratic, cooperative coexistence. Elections will take place in Berlin on September 20th.

Read also

According to the current “Berlin Trend” by the Infratest Dimap institute on behalf of the RBB, the outcome of the election is more open than ever: four parties could become the strongest force. The CDU received 21 percent in the survey, followed by the Left Party with 19 percent. The AfD and the Greens are each at 18 percent. The SPD is at 11 percent, the BSW and the FDP are below the five percent hurdle.