Evangelical working group

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The working group in Bochum in 1966

The Evangelical Working Group (EAK) is a special organization of the CDU and CSU . It is the representation of the Protestant members and serves the dialogue with the Protestant churches .

aims

Within the Union parties there is a structural predominance of Catholic members. In the early years of the Federal Republic in particular, denominational differences played an important role. Therefore, the EAK pursued three main goals through its work: On the one hand, the Protestant Union politicians wanted to influence Protestant voters and improve the party's chances of voting there. In this way, the interdenominational character of the Union should become more visible to the general public . On the other hand, the preservation of denominational proportional representation within the union parties was pursued. In addition, the organization also served the self-assurance of Protestants in a predominantly Catholic environment. Today, the EAK sees its tasks as being the point of contact for the Protestant churches and offering a forum for Protestant voters close to the church.

history

The EAK was founded in 1952 at the instigation of Hermann Ehlers in Siegen . The specific reason was the dispute between Konrad Adenauer and Gustav Heinemann over the question of rearmament . Heinemann had resigned as Minister of the Interior and seemed to be seriously challenging the CDU by founding the All-German People's Party (GVP). At the same time he was President of the Synod of the EKD and thus one of the leading Protestant representatives in Germany. This worried the Protestant Union politicians. The failure of the All-German People's Party in the Bundestag election in 1953 was seen in the Union as a success of the newly formed EAK. During the time of Gerhard Schröder's chairmanship , the EAK received widespread attention, as Schröder was considered a potential successor to Adenauer. With the increasing secularization since the late 1960s , there was a change in the self-image of the EAK. This has been accompanied by a relative loss of importance for the organization. Since Gerhard Schröder, no politician of the Union who already had significant influence at the time of his presidency has taken over the chairmanship. Since 2004, the EAK has been awarding the Hermann Ehlers Medal to personalities from church and politics who have made a special contribution to evangelical responsibility before God and people. Winners 2007 Winkler was EKD Bishop Wolfgang Huber .

Chairperson

Web links