Despite high coronavirus infection rates, German politicians do their best so that families will be able to celebrate Christmas. In this article Udi Raz explains, why this stands exemplary for a German tradition of exclusion.
At the beginning of April, during the first lockdown in Germany, and around the time of Ramadan, Pesach, and Easter, fake news circulated on social media suggesting that those of Muslim faith would be allowed to enjoy the loosening of pandemic restrictions during the holy month. Critics were outraged, asking why Muslims should be exempt from the Corona regulations, while members of other religions were not.
Annette Widmann-Mauz, the Commissioner for Immigration, Refugees and Integration, responded to such claims in a tweet, stressing that the regulations would apply to all religions. “Be it Easter, Pesach or Ramadan: I understand the desire for common prayer and community during these times. Nevertheless, to the benefit of all, we should currently abstain from such things, because health comes first,” she wrote. In essence, Widmann-Mauz emphasized how the pandemic-restrictions were egalitarian in nature when it comes to religion.
Egalitarianism Ends at Chrismas
In the end of November, however, Germany’s federal government and states have agreed on “special rules for the Christmas holidays”, whereby ‘special rules’ mean the loosening of the pandemic-restrictions. The decisions shall be put into effect between December 23 and January 1. Doing so, Germany openly navigates its Corona policies in accordance with Christian traditions.
The agreement is remarkable for two reasons. Firstly, although the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah will be celebrated for eight days starting on Thursday, Germany did not announce special rules in this case. One can deduce from that that Germany prioritises Christianity over other religions. Secondly, it becomes obvious that if during the first lockdown, health came first; in the second, as we see, Christmas comes before health.
Nevertheless, the decisions did not come out of nowhere. The German constitution (Grundgesetz) ensures that Sundays and public holidays remain protected as days of rest from work and of spiritual elevation. The fact that according to Islamic and Jewish traditions, the seventh day of the week is actually Saturday, and the fact that neither Islamic nor Jewish holidays are considered ‘public holidays’, highlight the extent to which Germany systematically and institutionally prioritises Christianity over other religions.
Religion as a Cultural Marker
In recent years Christianity has advanced in German public discourse to be much more than a mere religion, but also a marker of culture. This shift took shape especially in the light of the politicized ‘Islam-debate’ raising questions around the compatibility of Islam with ‘European values’. For those who attempted to define some ‘essence’ of a German culture, the term Christianity soon became a helpful tool to do so.
For example, a few years ago, joining the recurrent public debate about a German ‘Leitkultur’, Thomas de Maizière, the then-federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community, claimed that “our country has been shaped by Christianity”. In the last four decades, Christianity has become the arguably most persistent and effective term to define what is ‘typically German’, – what is ‘Germanness’, – and what is not.
As religion or as culture, by utilizing Christianity as the marker of those differences, – between the ‘German Self’ and ‘non-German Others’, – Germany's tradition remains first and foremost a tradition of exclusion. It is the exclusion of all those who cannot claim a Christian heritage. The decision to navigate Corona policies in accordance with Christian traditions is just another evidence of the exclusion of Muslims, Jews and other religious minorities from the German national interest. And it is another example of the sophisticated strategies through which this exclusion maintains itself in the public discourse as reasonable, neutral, secular, and as a perceived necessity.
According to Germany’s Federal Government, the Christmas holidays “are particularly important for family and social cohesion”. It is not that the members of Federal Government are not aware of the fatal potential this approach has in times of a global pandemic. In fact, acknowledging the increasing numbers of new infection cases, meanwhile, Berlin and Thuringia have decided not to grant any ‘special rules’ for Christmas. However, the vast majority of states continues to hold on to the idea that the restrictions shall be loosened to at least some extent during the Christian holidays. As we see, alarmingly much power lies in the hands of politicians who do not only seem to care little for the equality of all religions, but who would rather put lives at risk than to give up their privileges.
