German churches intensify warnings against far-right AfD ahead of Saxony-Anhalt election

Outside Magdeburg's Catholic cathedral, flags snap in the wind bearing a simple message: "Love thy neighbor, dialogue, human dignity, solidarity. VOTE CONSCIOUSLY!" A short walk away, the Protestant Cathedral Congregation has hung its own banner: "DIVERSITY IS DIVINE." Across Saxony-Anhalt, churches have blanketed their buildings with signs reading "Heart Instead of Hate." These are not abstract appeals. They are a direct response to the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which leads the polls ahead of Sunday's state election and has been classified by Germany's domestic intelligence agency as a "confirmed right-wing extremist" organization.

The churches' mobilization is unprecedented in its intensity. For months, warnings about the AfD have become woven into the fabric of religious life in the state. During a pilgrimage sermon in September 2025, Magdeburg Bishop Gerhard Feige made a pointed remark about voters casting ballots "into the blue"—the AfD's party color. The congregation erupted in prolonged applause. The message was unmistakable. Yet the churches insist they are not endorsing any particular party. Rather, they are defending what they call a Christian view of humanity against what they see as a fundamental incompatibility with their faith.

The AfD's state platform, adopted in April, makes clear why the conflict has become so sharp. The party calls for an end to all state payments to Protestant and Catholic churches, the abolition of church tax collection by public authorities, and financial penalties on churches that provide asylum to refugees. It demands the defunding of the Protestant Academy of Saxony-Anhalt, accusing it of promoting "climate dogma, gender ideology, and the rainbow cult." The party also proposes reintroducing flag assemblies in schools—the raising of flags and singing of the national anthem—a practice Feige notes existed during the Nazi era and was later adopted by East Germany. "And now it is supposed to return?" he said. "I find that inconceivable."

In February 2024, the German Catholic Bishops' Conference unanimously adopted a declaration titled "Ethnic Nationalism and Christianity are Incompatible," identifying what they called "genuine right-wing extremism" within the AfD. For Feige, the party's direction is "without question" an expression of ethnonationalism. He pointed to the AfD's campaign posters as evidence: "Save your country," "Take your country back," "Deport from day one!" "What else could that be but ethnonationalism?" The 74-year-old bishop said he "could never have imagined that so many people today could once again be so easily led astray, or that arsonists, pied pipers and respectable-looking agitators could emerge, and that so many would fall for them."

The context makes the churches' alarm more striking. In Saxony-Anhalt, only 10 percent of the population is Protestant and 3 percent Catholic. More than 85 percent of the state's 2.1 million residents have no religious affiliation, compared with a national average of 47 percent. Yet the churches have positioned themselves as defenders of democracy itself. Friedrich Kramer, bishop of the Protestant Church in central Germany, stated plainly: "A government involving the AfD would have devastating consequences." The churches emphasize that their interventions are "primarily not political messages, but Christian ones," rooted in positions on climate protection, the treatment of strangers, and human dignity.

The AfD's platform contains a curious omission and emphasis. Jews and Jewish life are never mentioned. Islam appears repeatedly, described as "a religion alien to our culture." The party promises to "restore religious freedom to appropriate limits" and argues that freedom of religion does not oblige Germans to "fulfill every demand of the Islamic lobby." The platform also speaks of a "Christian mission" that the churches supported by church tax no longer fulfill—language that echoes the relationship between Donald Trump and influential evangelical groups in the United States, though comparable religious movements have limited presence in Saxony-Anhalt.

Bishop Feige has warned against "downplaying" the prospect of an AfD-led government. During the campaign, he said, the party presents itself "with messianic ideas" and slogans like "Everything will be fine" or "Anything is possible." The AfD's lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, "comes across as highly polished and enthusiastic," which leads some to question what could be "right-wing extremist or dangerous" about him. But Feige's response is direct: "Behind him stand forces that give cause for concern. If an AfD single-party government comes to power here, it will be a pilot project. Then Saxony-Anhalt will become a gateway to national politics." The churches are not merely warning against a regional outcome. They are sounding an alarm about what they see as a test case with implications far beyond the state's borders.