Angela Merkel Believes in God

Is this a big deal? Here in the United States we are used to our politicians wearing their religion on their sleeves. And even though belief in God is diminishing among Americans - as it is everywhere else in the West - it would be nearly impossible for a confessed atheist to achieve higher office here. 

But things are different in Germany.  Germans are for the most part much more reserved about professing their faith, and Angela Merkel comes from eastern Germany - the most atheistic region on the planet (although her father was a Lutheran pastor).

In any event, here is Angela Merkel on her video podcast making an impassioned statement of faith:

 

For non-German speakers, here is a good article from Global Post on Angela Merkel and religion:         

But it was Merkel’s statements on a podcast broadcast on her website earlier this month that Resing said revealed the most about her personal views.

“I am a member of the Evangelical Church,” she told a young theology student. “I believe in God, and religion is also my constant companion, and actually has been my entire life.”

“I find it very liberating that as a Christian, one can make mistakes,” she added. “That one knows there is something higher than just human beings, and that we are also called on to shape the world in responsibility for others. This is a framework for my life, which I consider very important.”

Such statements from politicians may be commonplace in the United States, but not in Germany, where personal religious beliefs are largely kept under wraps.

The article also mentions a 2009 meeting between Angela Merkel and Barack Obama where the president and chancellor prayed together in the Dresden Frauenkirche.

Is the chancellor looking to put the "C" back in the CDU ahead of the national elections?

Comments

[koogleschreiber]

I think it is a mixture of arrogance and nonchalance. As Minister of Environment in Lower Saxonia she ignored warnings against establishing a repository for nuclear waste in Gorleben and made decisions completely in favor of the industry. Being accused of that her only comment today reads as follows: "Well, in these days I wasn't as smart as I am now."

And now, she is selling Germany's next generation to the big banks. She pretends that Europe is the Euro and vice versa and reduces the great idea of a unified Europe to a matter of accountants. "I find it very liberating that as a Christian, one can make mistakes," she added.- The bigger the smile, the sharper the knife.

[Zyme]

While I like to follow politics on a makro level, I would not dare to interpret her character.

Sure there are some traits like preferring back-room agreements and acting softly at first glance. However what to make of her at the core, is impossible to know for anyone not dealing with her on a regular basis I would say. And that mistery means a lot, given the exposed role she assumes for quite a few years now.

One quoted sentence in your posting I found to be quite unsettling hoewever:

"That one knows there is something higher than just human beings, and that we are also called on to shape the world in responsibility for others."

This in the 21st century of this anachronistic belief?? Instead of trying to shape the world for superficial beings, I would rather like her to shape it for her people!

But proably we should count ourselves lucky that she doesn't paint her face and hop around an old and disfigured tree praying for rain.