447). Yet, Germany's church and state do work together in a partnership. The state finances part of the cost of church establishments (such as kindergartens and schools) in return for the taxes the church imposes on its member's to repay the government (447). This system between church and state not only assists the church, but it also benefits the people of Germany.Germany's Basic Law protects a variety of religions. Kappler states that, “more than fifty-five million people in Germany belong to a Christian church, twenty-eight million are Protestants, twenty-seven million are Roman Catholic, and a minority belongs to other Christian denominations” (447). Statistically, this breaks down to “thirty-five percent of the German people are Protestants (mostly Lutherans), thirty-four percent are Roman Catholic, and two percent are Muslims” ("Germany" 151). This diversity in religion gives birth to many different churches. One type of Evangelical church in Germany, the EKD, is a community of twenty-four independent Lutheran, Reformed and United regional churches (447). The Synod is the main legislative body of this organization, with a chief executive body of Council (447). The church office in Hanover is its central administration headquarters. The members of this organization meet through the church conference, and cooperate closely with the Roman Catholic Church (448). The Roman Catholic Church is another type of church found in present day Germany. Previously, it was divided up into twenty-three dioceses until the reorganization that followed the reuniting of Germany (448). These dioceses are composed of bishops and archbishops that meet together to make decisions concerning the church or the people. Once the reunification occurred, the twenty-three dioceses turned into twenty-seven dioceses and seventy bishops (448). These bishops and archbishops consult together during the spring and autumn assemblies ...
