Synodal Path based on entirely false premises according to sociologist

Sociologist of religion Pollack sceptical about German Synodal Path

Democratisation makes "pre-modern" Christianity far from compatible with today's society - sense of the sacred almost completely disappeared even among Catholics

 The renowned German sociologist of religion Detlef Pollack considers the Synodal Way to the future of the Catholic Church in Germany as not very promising. "My impression is that many proponents of the Synodal  Path have an sub-optimal awareness of the reformability of their Church," the scientist told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung". "They apparently assume that the moment they change certain things - democratise church decisions, abolish celibacy - the Church will once again be able to connect with modern society. In doing so, they forget that Christianity comes from pre-modern times and that some things cannot be changed without touching the interior of the church."

Catholicism in particular is based on a sharp distinction between the sacred and the profane, Pollack stressed. "The sacred and the sacraments are shielded from the world by sacred times, sacred spaces, sacred vessels and by the priesthood." This, he said, has been lived out in an obligatory way for centuries. Recent surveys, however, show that the sense of the sacred has almost completely disappeared among Catholics. One is witnessing an erosion of the Catholic Church, "which is collapsing in its inner structures in Germany at the moment".

Pollack went on to say: "Abuse is added on top of the steady erosion of religion and explains the current enormously high increase in the number of people leaving."

Cultural rupture in the 1960s

According to the sociologist of religion, the decline in membership of both German mainline churches is not only due to the abuse scandal. "In essence, the churches are still struggling with the cultural break that I would date to the 1960s," Pollack said. "At that time, prosperity was spreading and consumer culture was able to really establish itself. Broad sections of the population began to orientate the compass of their lives towards self-realisation and opportunities for experience," the scientist explained.

The churches had already understood the problem at the time. "But that did not help them. Because you can't completely individualise the Christian faith." Religion and modernity were in a "very fundamental tension". Pollack described the dilemma as follows: "On the one hand, churches need positive references to the majority culture, but on the other hand they should not be indiscriminately absorbed into it. Nevertheless, "with all the emphasis on difference", it is important to build bridges to modernity, for example to music or politics. Churches would not disappear completely, Pollack added. "I don't know of any part of the world where there is no religion.

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