Rechtsextremismus und Kirche: Herausforderungen und Perspektiven

The text discusses how the Protestant Church in Germany struggles with the rise of far-right extremism and the political party Alternative for Germany (AfD). Similar to universities, churches face the dilemma of maintaining open and diverse spaces while protecting democratic values and vulnerable groups like queer people and migrants. The author highlights that discrimination linked to far-right views - such as sexism, racism, antisemitism and anti-queer ideologies - are not just outside threats but also exist inside the church itself. Theologically, the church is a corpus permixtum, which makes simple exclusions difficult. With regard to the right to run in a church election, the author compares different regional church responses. While some regions ban AfD members from leadership roles in general, the author argues that a total ban is risky, hard to control (if there are no public statements) and can make AfD members look like victims. Instead, she supports a more cautious approach and establishes the following criteria for disqualification from holding office: If individuals actively support the AfD, run for office within the AfD, and/or engage in hate speech in public, they should be disqualified from holding a church office. Regardless of the issue of eligibility to run for office, it is essential that the churches clearly communicate what they stand for and why, in their view, it is not possible to be active in the church and in the AfD at the same time.