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Religion

Faith Matters - Inter-confessional Churches in Germany - Divided and yet United

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May 6, 2018

An inter-confessional church is one shared by Catholics and Protestants. The Reformation led to 2,000 of these "marriages of convenience”.

Sometimes the two religious communities have had to share a church for centuries. Everything was a potential source of conflict. The causes were often banal. There wasn’t enough money for two churches so they had to share and fight over times of services, baptismal fonts, running costs and building funds. Today there are only about 60 inter-confessional churches in Germany. In most cases, the "marriage of convenience” has evolved into a genuine sense of community - places where the future of ecumenism is practiced.

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