Religion in Berlin

Berlin has been called the "atheist capital of Europe" due to its low level of religious affiliation.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/26/berlin-germany-religious-education-ethics|title=Atheist Berlin to decide on religion's place in its schools|author=Connolly, Kate|work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=26 April 2009|accessdate=6 September 2012}}

On 26 April 2009, a referendum (de) was held on whether Berlin pupils should be allowed to choose between the ethics class, a compulsory class introduced in all Berlin schools in 2006, and a religion class.{{Cite news |url=https://www.trouw.nl/home/berlijn-blijft-een-heidense-stad~a6c1bb85/ |title=Berlijn blijft een heidense stad |author=Antoine Verbij |work=Trouw |date=27 April 2009 |accessdate=24 January 2018 |language=nl}} The SPD, the Left Party and Greens supported the "Pro Ethics" camp for a "No" vote, stressing that the ethics class should remain compulsory, and pupils could voluntarily take an extra religion class alongside it if they so chose; the CDU and FDP supported the "Pro Reli" camp for a "Yes" vote, wanting to give pupils a free choice. In East Berlin, an overwhelming majority voted against the introduction of religious education. In total, 51.5 percent voted "No" and 48.4 percent voted "Yes".

There are a number of humanist groups in the city. The Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands (English: Humanist Association of Germany) is an organization to promote and spread a secular humanist worldview and an advocate for the rights of nonreligious people. It was founded 1993 in Berlin, and in 2009 according to the group it counted about 4100 members in the city.{{cite news|accessdate=2018-11-11|title=Wer sind die Humanisten?|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/religionsgegner-wer-sind-die-humanisten/1445800.html}}

File:2023 Berliner Dom - Westfassade -- 04.jpg, held by a congregation and the Protestant umbrella UEK]]

{{Main|Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia}}

The largest denominations are the Protestant regional church body of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO), a united church comprising mostly Lutheran, a few Reformed and United Protestant congregations. EKBO is a member of both the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) and Union Evangelischer Kirchen (UEK) claiming 18.7 percent of the city's population.

Since 2010 the leader of the church has been bishop Dr. Markus Dröge. St. Mary's Church is the seat of the bishop of the EKBO with the Berlin Cathedral being under joint supervision of all the member churches of the UEK.

{{Main|Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Berlin}}

File:Heiner Koch (Martin Rulsch) 1.jpg

File:Berlin, Mitte, Bebelplatz, Hedwigskathedrale 02.jpg]]

In 1994, Pope John Paul II elevated Berlin to the rank of an archdiocese, supervising since the simultaneously erected Diocese of Görlitz (formerly Apostolic Administration) and the prior exempt Diocese of Dresden-Meißen.

Berlin is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Berlin covering the northeast of Germany. In 2004 there were 386,279 Catholics out of the population of the archdiocese, which covered Berlin, most of Brandenburg (except of its southeastern corner, historical Lower Lusatia) and Hither Pomerania, i. e. the German part of Pomerania. A little over 6 percent of the population in this area was Roman Catholic. There are 122 parishes in the archdiocese. The Roman Catholic Church claimed 9.1 percent of the city's registered members in 2010.

The current archbishop is Heiner Koch, formerly Bishop of Dresden, who was appointed by Pope Francis on Monday, 8 June 2015, to replace the former archbishop, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki.

In 2010 about 2.7 percent of the population identified with other Christian denominations, mostly Eastern Orthodox.Amt für Statistik Berlin Brandenburg: Die kleine Berlin-Statistik 2010. ([http://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/Produkte/kleinestatistik/kBEst_2010.pdf PDF-Datei] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904233957/http://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/Produkte/kleinestatistik/kBEst_2010.pdf |date=4 September 2012}}). Retrieved, 4 January 2011. Berlin is also the seat of Orthodox cathedrals, such as the Cathedral of St. Boris the Baptist, one of the two seats of the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Western and Central Europe, and the Resurrection of Christ Cathedral of the Diocese of Berlin (Patriarchate of Moscow).

In 2009, Islamic religious organizations in Berlin reported 249,000 members.{{cite web| url=https://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/produkte/kleinestatistik/AP_kleinestatistik_de_2015_be.pdf| title=Die kleine Berlin-Statistik 2015| date=December 2015| website=Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg| language=de| accessdate=20 August 2016 }} As of the end of 2015, 352,667 officially registered residents of Berlin had immigrated after 1955 from Arabic and Islamic countries, the largest part from Turkey, or were children of such immigrants.{{cite web| url=https://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/publikationen/stat_berichte/2016/SB_A01-05-00_2015h02_BE.pdf| title=Einwohnerinnen und Einwohner im Land Berlin am 31. Dezember 2015| trans-title=Residents of the State of Berlin as of 31 December 2015| date=March 2016| website=Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg| language=de| accessdate=20 August 2016}}

The Berlin Mosque (German: Berliner Moschee, Wilmersdorfer Moschee, Ahmadiyya Moschee) in Berlin is Germany's oldest mosque in use, situated on Brienner Straße 7–8 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. It was designed by K. A. Hermann and was built between 1923 and 1925. It has two {{convert|90|ft|m}} tall minarets.

The Sehitlik Mosque in Neukölln built in 1983 serves as a cultural center as well as a place of worship. It can hold up to 1,500 people, and is the largest Islamic mosque in Berlin.{{cite web| url=https://www.beautifulmosque.com/Sehitlik-Mosque-Berlin-Germany| title=Sehitlik Mosque Berlin – Germany| website=Beautiful Mosques| accessdate=20 December 2016}}

File:Berlin Neue Synagoge 2005.jpg. Since 1990 Berlin has a constantly growing Jewish community.{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/news/1.584490 |title=Epicenter of Holocaust Now Fastest-growing Jewish Community |publisher=Haaretz |date=2014-04-08 |accessdate=2016-08-25}}]]

Of the estimated population of 30,000-45,000 Jewish residents in 2014,{{cite web| url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/11/01/germany-jewish-community-now-thrives/fcPnmnfpbLQ0hM1A6zDyNN/story.html| title=In Germany, a Jewish community now thrives| first=Mike | last=Ross| date=1 November 2014| website=The Boston Globe| accessdate=19 August 2016}} approximately 12,000 are registered members of religious organizations. Berlin is considered to have one of the rapidly growing Jewish communities in the world due to Russian, Eastern European, Israeli and German Jewish immigrants.[http://www.berlin-judentum.de/index-e.htm JEWS IN BERLIN?] www.berlin-judentum.de. 16 August 2016.[http://www.rferl.org/content/Article/1078688.html Germany: Berlin Facing Challenge Of Assimilating Russian-Speaking Jews]. Radio Free Europe. 6 September 2012.

The Centrum Judaicum and several synagogues—including the largest in Germany—have been renovated and reopened in 2007.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6971778.stm |title=World | Europe | Major German synagogue reopened |publisher=BBC News |date=2007-08-31 |accessdate=2013-04-16}} Berlin's annual week of Jewish culture and the Jewish Cultural Festival in Berlin, held for the 21st time in the same year, featuring concerts, exhibitions, public readings and discussions partially explain why Rabbi Yitzhak Ehrenberg of the orthodox Jewish community in Berlin states: "Orthodox Jewish life is alive in Berlin again."

Die Bundesregierung (Federal government of Germany): "[http://www.bundesregierung.de/nn_6538/Content/EN/Artikel/2007/08/2007-08-31-groesste-synagoge-deutschlands__en.html Germany's largest synagogue officially reopened.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926232408/http://www.bundesregierung.de/nn_6538/Content/EN/Artikel/2007/08/2007-08-31-groesste-synagoge-deutschlands__en.html |date=26 September 2011}}" 31 August 2007.Axelrod, Toby. "[http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/12907/edition_id/249/format/html/displaystory.html Cantor who led Berlin's Jews for past 50 years dies]." J. The Jewish News of Northern California. 21 January 2000.

The Neue Synagoge ("New Synagogue") was built 1859–1866 as the main synagogue of the Berlin Jewish community, on Oranienburger Straße. Because of its refined Moorish style and resemblance to the Alhambra, it became an important architectural monument of the second half of the 19th century in the city.

File:Thai-Tempel,Berlin-12.4.2015.jpg temple {{ill|Wat Buddha Vihara|de}}] in Berlin-Pankow]]

In 1924 Dr. Paul Dahlke established the first German Buddhist monastery, the "Das Buddhistische Haus" in Reinickendorf. It is considered to be the oldest and largest Theravada Buddhist center in Europe and has been declared a National Heritage site.{{cite news| url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2004/04/24/fea09.html|title=80th anniversary of Das Buddhistische Haus in Berlin – Frohnau, Germany |publisher=Daily News (Sri Lanka) |date=24 April 2004 |accessdate=9 November 2014}}

The first Thai Buddhist temple in Berlin, {{ill|Wat Buddhavihara|de}} ({{langx|th|วัดพุทธวิหาร}}, {{RTGS|wat phuttha wihan}}) was opened on 16 April 1995. Located in Berlin-Pankow, the temple is run by the Thai Buddhist Association Berlin and was built under the patronage of monk {{ill|Phra Phrom Wachira Panyachan|th|พระพรหมวชิรปัญญาจารย์ (ทองดี สุรเตโช)}}, the abbot of Wat Ratchaorasaram in Bangkok.{{cite web|title=สถานเอกอัครราชทูต ณ กรุงเบอร์ลินและชุมชนไทยร่วมทำบุญครบรอบ ๒๙ ปี ของวัดพุทธวิหาร กรุงเบอร์ลิน|url=https://berlin.thaiembassy.org/th/content/watbuddavihara?cate=61fa50bea26772739402a0f3|work=Thai Embassy, Berlin|date=2024-04-17}}

There are many places of worship in Berlin for a variety of religions and denominations not listed above. For example, there are 36 Baptist congregations (within Union of Evangelical Free Church Congregations in Germany), 29 New Apostolic Churches, 15 United Methodist churches, eight Free Evangelical Congregations, four Churches of Christ, Scientist (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 11th), six congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), an Old Catholic church and even an Anglican church. The Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church has eight parishes of different sizes in Berlin.{{cite web|url=http://www.selk-berlin.de/|title=Lutheran Diocese Berlin-Brandenburg|work=Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche|accessdate=6 September 2012}} Berlin has more than 80 mosques,{{cite web| url=http://www.dw.com/en/berlins-mosques/g-17572423| title=Berlin′s mosques| date=16 April 2014| website=Deutsche Welle| accessdate=19 August 2016}} as well as two Buddhist and three Hindu temples.

Over the past years, Berlin has seen a considerable increase in interfaith initiatives, including the House of One project which looks at building a joint place of worship for adherents to different religions. In 2016, Berlin celebrated its first ever Interfaith Music Festival ("Festival der Religionen") which was organised by the international non-profit initiative Faiths in Tune and made possible with funds from the Berlin Lottery Foundation.

The Festival der Religionen combined live music and dance performances by artists from 13 different religions, an interfaith fair and several exhibitions on faith subjects.{{Cite web|url=http://www.faithsintune.org/#!berlin-festival-2016--de-/rgm0o|title=FAITHS IN TUNE Interfaith Music Festival|website=FAITHS IN TUNE Interfaith Music Festival|access-date=2016-08-02}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/gemeinsames-fest-der-religionen-public-praying-in-berlin/13840642.html|title=Public Praying in Berlin|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online|access-date=2016-08-02}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/article/view/id/26036|title=Glauben im Einklang: Das Festival der Religionen will durch Musik Respekt und Dialog fördern|last=Lombard|first=Jerome|date=14 July 2016|access-date=2 August 2016|via=Jüdische Allgemeine}}

• Religion in Germany

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{{Berlin}}