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Abstract

The confessional division of Germany between Protestant and Catholic is one of the defining features of modern German history. In the wake of the Reformation, political and confessional divisions often went hand in hand. Political unification in 1871 did little to change the religious map of Germany. Confession remained a central political issue, especially in the wake of the Kulturkampf of the 1870s, a policy of persecution directed against the large German Catholic minority by Otto von Bismarck, who remained Prussian minister president after unification.

Confessional Breakdown of the German Population (1871 and 1910)

Source

I. Confessional Breakdown of the German Population (December 1, 1871)

State and region

On December 1, 1871, for every 10,000 residents, there were:

Christian

Jewish

Other or no religion given

Evangelical (Protestant)

Roman

Catholic

Other

Prov. East Prussia

8,609

1,278

34

79

0,1

Prov. West Prussia

4,819

4,880

98

203

0,3

City of Berlin

8,904

626

31

436

3

Prov. Brandenburg

9,760

170

14

56

0,1

Prov. Pomerania

9,761

118

30

91

0,0

Prov. Posen

3,228

6,374

7

391

0,1

Prov. Silesia

4,749

5,115

10

126

0,3

Prov. Saxony

9,351

603

18

28

0,1

Prov. Schleswig-Holstein

9,894

60

10

36

0,1

Prov. Hanover

8,727

1,191

17

65

0,1

Prov. Westphalia

4,543

5,347

13

97

0,1

Prov. Hesse-Nassau

7,056

2,655

28

259

2

Prov. Rhineland

2,534

7,343

16

107

0,1

Hohenzollern

269

9,618

5

108

-

Kingdom of Prussia

6,497

3,349

22

132

0,3

Kingdom of Bavaria

2,761

7,123

11

104

1

Kingdom of Saxony

9,755

209

19

13

3

Württemberg

6,867

3,044

21

67

0,2

Baden

3,359

6,449

16

176

0,2

Hesse

6,852

2,803

46

297

2

Mecklenburg-Schwerin

9,921

24

2

53

0,4

Hamburg

9,044

229

93

407

227

Alsace-Lorraine

1,744

7,973

14

264

5

German Reich

6,231

3,621

20

125

5

II. Confessional Breakdown of the German Population (December 1, 1910)

State and region

On December 1, 1910, for every 10,000 residents, there were:

Christian

Jewish

Evangelical (Protestant)

Roman Catholic

Other

Prov. East Prussia

8,434

1,409

84

3

Prov. West Prussia

4,632

5,182

99

82

City of Berlin

8,155

1,173

53

434

Prov. Brandenburg

8,984

734

50

150

Prov. Pomerania

9,536

328

70

52

Prov. Posen

3,079

6,773

20

126

Prov. Silesia

4,208

5,669

25

86

Prov. Saxony

9,161

753

23

25

Prov. Schleswig-Holstein

9,556

330

61

21

Prov. Hanover

8,513

1,372

43

63

Prov. Westphalia

4,722

5,143

58

51

Prov. Hesse-Nassau

6,839

2,824

56

233

Prov. Rhineland

2,946

6,903

41

80

Hohenzollern

503

9,437

2

57

Kingdom of Prussia

6,182

3,631

47

104

Kingdom of Bavaria

2,821

7,061

20

80

Kingdom of Saxony

9,405

491

53

37

Württemberg

6,856

3,036

53

49

Baden

3,856

5,932

62

121

Hesse

6,615

3,101

52

188

Mecklenburg-Schwerin

9,618

320

20

22

Hamburg

9,163

503

42

199

Alsace-Lorraine

2,178

7,629

21

165

German Reich

6,159

3,669

46

95

Source: Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich,1880, p. 13 and 1913, p. 11; reprinted in Gerd Hohorst, Jürgen Kocka, and Gerhard A. Ritter, Sozialgeschichtliches Arbeitsbuch: Materialien zur Statistik des Kaiserreichs 1870–1914. 2 vols., Munich, 1975, 2: pp. 54–55.

Translation: Thomas Dunlap