In German Birthplace of Reformation, a Revival of Interest

WITTENBERG, Germany -- Martin Luther, a renegade monk, triggered the Reformation here five centuries ago by nailing a long list of grievances to the door of the Castle Church. But as Wittenberg celebrates the founding of Protestantism, it is finding one thing in short supply: Lutherans.

Generations of secularism and communism have exacted a severe toll on church membership in this eastern German city. Today, fewer than one in five people identify themselves as Christian, one of the lowest percentages in the country. Most worshipers who fill the pews in local churches are tourists longing for a glimpse of the holy sites frequented by Luther when he lived here between 1508 and 1546.

"It's a very strange experience for foreign visitors, especially Americans, to come to the city of Luther and discover that east Germany is perhaps the most atheistic region in the world," said Stefan Rhein, director of the Luther Memorials Foundation of Saxony-Anhalt.

The presence of organized religion is so limited in Wittenberg that some U.S. Lutheran organizations are trying to fill the void. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America established a ministry here 10 years ago to cater to the thousands of American pilgrims who visit annually. Study abroad programs for American students have proved so popular that the city plans to open a residential college next year for visiting scholars.

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States, has bought a building next to the old Town Church, where Luther used to preach, and plans to turn it into a welcome center for U.S. visitors. The Missouri Synod also plans to start a congregation by reaching out to German atheists, although organizers acknowledge that won't be easy in a city still recovering from 40 years of communist rule.

"In east Germany, you actually have to go up to people and tell them who Jesus was," said Wilhelm Torgerson, a German Lutheran pastor who serves as the Missouri Synod's representative in Wittenberg. "They say, 'Oh yes, Christ. Didn't he have something to do with Luther?' "

"We would like to proclaim the Gospel to unbelievers, and there are certainly a lot of them here," Torgerson added. "Obviously, there is enough work for all of us without stepping on anyone's toes."

Wittenbergers have welcomed the growing American presence for the most part, but there have been some bruised feelings.

Some Missouri Synod leaders have declared that their congregation would be the only true Lutheran church in Wittenberg -- an assertion that irritated members of the Evangelical Church in Germany, the largest Protestant body in the country. The Evangelical Church comprises Lutherans, Calvinists and other denominations.

"It was strange for them to come here and say, 'We are the first real Lutherans,' " said Siegfried T. Kasparick, the Evangelical Church's bishop for Wittenberg. "We've had a Lutheran congregation here since Luther."

In Germany, about 30 percent of the population belongs to the Evangelical Church. An additional31 percent count themselves as Roman Catholic.

In Wittenberg, however, the number of churchgoers is among the lowest in the country. About 15 percent are members of the Evangelical Church, and 3 percent are Catholic. The city also has a small number of Baptists.