Religion and the State in Germany and Slovakia: Convergence and Divergence of a Western Versus Central European Case

Abstract

Although most of Western and Central Europe became one political confederation after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the addition of most Central European states into the European Union in 2004, the political histories, institutional arrangements, and political mobilization around religion distinctively shape current religion-state practices in the two regions. Using Germany and Slovakia as case studies, we document the institutional and legal similarities between these two countries. Both have adopted a form of multiple religious establishment. Nevertheless, on the ground, these two states diverge markedly in how religious actors and institutions engage in politics and in the role that religion plays in national identity. This chapter provides an overview of the historical and institutional context that continues to shape contemporary interactions between religion and politics and also looks at specific recent examples of the varying interplay between these two factors in debates over abortion, immigration, same-sex marriage, and the role of Christianity in public life.