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Germany: Scholz wants to forego the addition of God to the oath of office


Berlin - Olaf Scholz would not take his oath of office as Federal Chancellor with the addition “So help me God”. He has never done that, said the Federal Finance Minister and SPD candidate for Chancellor in a reportage with Bild.

If he wins the election, Olaf Scholz would be the second Federal Chancellor to take his oath of office without the so-called God's addition. Gerhard Schröder had also renounced the formula when he took office.

The tradition of the oath of office can already be found in the constitution of the Paulskirche. In the Weimar Republic, too, the Chancellor had to take an oath of office. In the Federal Republic of Germany the oath can also be taken without the addition of God. Scholz was baptized and confirmed, but later left the Protestant Church. If he were elected, he would be the first non-denominational Chancellor.

Still not a politician remote from the church
Nevertheless, Scholz does not see himself as a politician far removed from the church. In an interview published last week with the Catholic News Agency, the 53-year-old said: "The Church has given me a set of values ​​that are important to me and according to which I base my decisions."

Time and again, initiatives try to anchor the reference to God in state institutions. In Schleswig-Holstein, for example, in 2016 a parliamentary vote on the inclusion of the reference to God in the state constitution failed due to a single missing vote. In 2017, there was also no majority in the Hessian parliament for the addition of God to the constitution.

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