The Catholic Church in Saxony-Anhalt has launched a campaign ahead of September’s crucial elections in the eastern German state, where polling suggests that the far-right could emerge as the strongest party.
The “Vote Consciously” initiative calls on voters to avoid populist rhetoric and extremism, at a time when far-right AfD (Alternative for Germany) and the bishops have repeatedly clashed publicly.
Bishop Gerhard Feige of the Diocese of Magdeburg, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, explained that the initiative was intended to “give guidance” that is “not based on party politics, but on values.”
“We are particularly challenged when hatred and incitement, as well as populist or extremist positions, become increasingly socially acceptable,” he said, before emphasizing that “we are not targeting any one political party here.”
The initiative includes a poster campaign, training courses on dealing with right-wing extremism in youth work, argumentation training, and instruction on legal tools for responding to authoritarian attacks.
Frank Richter, former head of the Saxon State Agency for Civic Education, will also give lectures on topics such as “Why I enjoy talking to AfD voters,” and there will be public events and lectures by theologians.
Recent polling puts the AfD at 38 percent in the state, with the centre-right Christian Democratic Union in second place on 26 percent, the Left Party on 13 percent, the Social Democratic Party on 6 percent, and the Greens on 4 percent.
In May 2025, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) – Germany’s domestic intelligence agency – classified the AfD party as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization, although in February 2026 a court in Cologne issued an injunction temporarily suspending this classification.
Along with Feige’s diocese, other Catholic organizations have supported the initiative, including Caritas and the Edith Stein School Foundation. Only 3 percent of the population in Saxony-Anhalt is Catholic and the diocese, which has around 68,000 people, is the second smallest in Germany.
Frequent flashpoints
In February this year, Bishop Feige sent a Lenten pastoral letter issuing a stark warning against voting for the AfD that was read in all the parishes of his diocese.
“If the AfD’s draft for a possible government program after the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt is taken seriously, then liberal democracy and pluralism, religious freedom as we know them, and tolerance would be a thing of the past,” he said.
“People are still not immune to temptation and are therefore susceptible to seduction and manipulation. This was evident during the Hitler dictatorship and in the GDR era, and frighteningly, it is true again today,” he also said, referencing both Nazi Germany and the former East German communist state.
Instead, Feige called on Christians to vote according to their values.
“Let us reflect on our Christian values. Let us resist all forms of extremism and populism, all nationalist and xenophobic tendencies. Let us continue to stand resolutely for the inalienable dignity of every human being, for justice and mercy, solidarity and charity, and for a tolerant and peaceful coexistence,” he said.
In January this year, Feige said an AfD victory would be “existential” for Germany’s churches, while in October last year, Feige accused the party of being “hypocritical” in its manner of using Christian language and values to support some of its positions.
“The AfD’s attempt to cloak its positions in Christian terms is hypocritical. The same Beatrix von Storch [deputy parliamentary leader of the AfD] who marched at the forefront of the last ‘March for Life’ against abortion has called for shooting refugees,” Feige said to Kölnische Rundschau.
“The AfD smugly accuses the churches of not being passionate enough in their opposition to abortion,” Feige said.
“But their concern is not with the God-given dignity of humankind from the very beginning, which would also apply to refugees, but rather with a supposedly necessary regeneration of the German people,” he added.
Source:
cruxnow.com
