https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Hardly considered an extreme activity up to now, singing -- especially choral singing -- is quickly earning a reputation in the pandemic as about the most dangerous thing you can do. https://www.thelocal.de/20200527/german-choirs-silenced-as-singing-branded-coronavirus-risk Wed, 27 May 2020 11:07:48 +0200 german-choirs-silenced-as-singing-branded-coronavirus-risk A court in central Germany on Tuesday rejected a case calling for a Wittenberg church associated with Protestant firebrand Martin Luther to remove an ancient anti-Semitic carving from its wall. https://www.thelocal.de/20200204/german-court-rejects-call-to-remove-anti-semitic-church-carving Tue, 04 Feb 2020 18:28:58 +0100 german-court-rejects-call-to-remove-anti-semitic-church-carving If you want to experience this Christmas tradition in Germany, you might have to wait until December 24th. https://www.thelocal.de/20191223/german-advent-word-of-the-day-das-krippenspiel Mon, 23 Dec 2019 10:31:30 +0100 german-advent-word-of-the-day-das-krippenspiel A senior member of the church tasked with training new priests has come under fire for calling homosexuality "the consequence of a failed psychological development". https://www.thelocal.de/20190510/german-priest-calls-homosexuality-a-sickness Fri, 10 May 2019 11:43:45 +0200 german-priest-calls-homosexuality-a-sickness A new study has come to a dramatic conclusion about the decline of Germany’s churches in the coming decades. But it also argues that churches have the power to turn back the tide. https://www.thelocal.de/20190502/german-churches-could-lose-half-of-members-over-coming-decades-study Thu, 02 May 2019 19:27:06 +0200 german-churches-could-lose-half-of-members-over-coming-decades-study A Catholic priest in Germany, lured by a get-rich-quick Internet scam, has admitted to embezzling a small fortune from his parish, a diocese spokeswoman said Monday. https://www.thelocal.de/20181119/german-priest-confesses-at-sunday-mass-to-stealing-church-funds-for-lottery Mon, 19 Nov 2018 17:05:39 +0100 german-priest-confesses-at-sunday-mass-to-stealing-church-funds-for-lottery In many countries, breaking away from the Church is easy. But in Germany, unless you have formally revoked your religious affiliation, you may still be liable for church tax. https://www.thelocal.de/20180808/crossed-purposes-when-church-tax-burdens-expat-tax-payers Wed, 08 Aug 2018 13:38:45 +0200 crossed-purposes-when-church-tax-burdens-expat-tax-payers A controversial decree requiring Christian crucifixes to be put up at entrances of most public buildings in Bavaria came into force Friday, sparking accusations of identity politics ahead of elections in the southern German state. https://www.thelocal.de/20180601/bavarian-order-to-put-crosses-on-public-buildings-kicks-in Fri, 01 Jun 2018 16:26:39 +0200 bavarian-order-to-put-crosses-on-public-buildings-kicks-in Bavarian leader Markus Söder has announced that crosses must hang in all the state's government buildings, saying the move is a "commitment to Bavarian identity and culture." https://www.thelocal.de/20180425/crosses-to-be-mandatory-in-all-public-offices-in-bavaria Wed, 25 Apr 2018 16:49:21 +0200 crosses-to-be-mandatory-in-all-public-offices-in-bavaria Not many people know it, but the churches are the second biggest employers in Germany after the state. On Tuesday the European Court told them they can no longer discriminate based on faith. https://www.thelocal.de/20180417/how-germanys-second-biggest-employer-just-got-hit-by-a-big-rule-change Tue, 17 Apr 2018 14:49:03 +0200 how-germanys-second-biggest-employer-just-got-hit-by-a-big-rule-change A German village has decided to keep a contentious Nazi-era church bell that bears a swastika and the words "All for the Fatherland - Adolf Hitler", arguing it serves as a reminder of the country's dark past. https://www.thelocal.de/20180227/german-village-votes-to-keep-hitler-bell-as-memorial Tue, 27 Feb 2018 11:45:55 +0100 german-village-votes-to-keep-hitler-bell-as-memorial The demolition of a historic church to clear the way for the expansion of an open-cast mine this week has outraged locals in western Germany and environmentalists, as politicians moot giving up their own clean energy targets. https://www.thelocal.de/20180110/historic-church-demolished-to-make-way-for-brown-coal-mine Wed, 10 Jan 2018 14:05:39 +0100 historic-church-demolished-to-make-way-for-brown-coal-mine Authorities in Bavaria have started to act against the church when it shields people the state wants to deport. But clerics say they are unbending in their determination to resist - and claim the fight is only making them stronger. https://www.thelocal.de/20171205/the-clerics-using-an-ancient-church-privilege-to-fight-the-german-state-on-refugees Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:54:50 +0100 the-clerics-using-an-ancient-church-privilege-to-fight-the-german-state-on-refugees The former choirmaster of a Catholic school in Germany where more than 500 children were abused, including sexually, was a "fanatic" who was "feared" by pupils, his immediate successor said on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.de/20170720/former-german-popes-brother-criticized-for-system-of-fear-at-choir-accused-of-child-abuse Thu, 20 Jul 2017 10:51:18 +0200 former-german-popes-brother-criticized-for-system-of-fear-at-choir-accused-of-child-abuse The Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau has built a robot to give out blessings to visitors in Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt as it celebrates the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. https://www.thelocal.de/20170531/church-creates-robot-priest-to-bless-visitors-in-martin-luther-town Wed, 31 May 2017 18:43:33 +0200 church-creates-robot-priest-to-bless-visitors-in-martin-luther-town In the coming 12 months, hundreds of events will take place to commemorate the reformer Martin Luther, hoping to bring the two Christian Churches closer together. https://www.thelocal.de/20161031/lutheran-church-begins-reformation-anniversary-year Mon, 31 Oct 2016 15:29:28 +0100 lutheran-church-begins-reformation-anniversary-year It will now cost you €100 to spend a penny. That’s if you get caught choosing to pee against the world-famous Ulm Minster. https://www.thelocal.de/20161025/iconic-ulm-minster-being-eroded-by-human-urine-church-pee Tue, 25 Oct 2016 14:09:42 +0200 iconic-ulm-minster-being-eroded-by-human-urine-church-pee Retired pope Benedict XVI fell in love during his student days in Germany and struggled with the idea of celibacy, said the author of a new book to be published Friday. https://www.thelocal.de/20160908/ex-pope-benedict-was-in-love-as-young-man Thu, 08 Sep 2016 10:41:44 +0200 ex-pope-benedict-was-in-love-as-young-man The Church in Germany still has a relationship to the state much closer than in many other western democracies. But the public showing of a British comedy classic could change that. https://www.thelocal.de/20160603/how-life-of-brian-is-starting-a-revolution-against-the-church Fri, 03 Jun 2016 14:31:33 +0200 how-life-of-brian-is-starting-a-revolution-against-the-church The Catholic Church in southern Bavaria is offering religious asylum to refugees who fled Isis, and who the state now wants to deport. https://www.thelocal.de/20160526/church-hides-refugees-from-state-in-bavarian-beauty-spot Thu, 26 May 2016 10:26:44 +0200 church-hides-refugees-from-state-in-bavarian-beauty-spot