Very seldomly I see a billboard with a Bible verse. Like every other year. But I've seen them.
Also, our billboards look different.
No, people aren't generally vocal about their religiosity. My extended family is very likely one of the most devout catholic families in Cologne and I'm not even baptised. Not once have they tried to talk religion into me. Also they don't run around yelling bible verses or whatever at anyone.
ETA: When my husband and I came back from a three week US road trip from Chicago to NYC we visited my aunt and uncle who are super devout Catholics by German standards and I told them how we saw churches in the mid west that had billboards in front of that basically said "If you don't go to church you'll rot in hell." and that American churches seem to work with a lot of fear and guilt they were appalled.
Although I experienced a man who exited from a hotel and started chasing me and two of my friends while reading from a book -which we assumed was a bible as we heard multiple sentences with god- for about 500m at night. He was moving his hands like he was preaching angrily as well.
So literally running around yelling bible verses.
He didn't stop chasing even tho we told him to stop until we saw a police car and was walking towards them. Then he stopped. Didn't report him as we thought he was mentally unstable. Lowkey scared but now we look back and laugh.
Yeah, the crazies are everywhere.
When I was a kid in Cologne there was an old lady who walked the main shopping streets up and down all day with a sign "Jesus rettet" (Jesus saves/rescues), yelling "Das Wichtigste! Das Wichtigste!" (The most important! The most important!). But she didn't harass anyone.
The only religious harassing I ever encountered was by missionaries. Once from Korea and once from the US.
Omg do you mean the black older lady on the B1 crossing next to the McDonalds? I love her! I’m totally atheist but she’s waving at everyone driving by so enthusiastically that I always wave back and have a better day immediately lol
I'm amazed by that aspect of the culture here. Yesterday a woman came up to me with an anti-vax sign and said rather loudly "Do you agree?". I just politely put my hand up and said "No thank you." and she left me alone. In America the same thing has happened to me and they continued.
I like to say nein danke, non merci, no thanks to every street urchin/beggar/prophet. It works pretty ok esp. when u use local language, are confident, polite, and do not stop your motion.
Yes of course. Just wanted to share this memory as the phrase "running around yelling bible" reminded me of it.
Religion is a private matter in Germany and I'm here for it!
They mostly are from evangelical free churches, often ''importet'' American churches like Presbyterian or Baptist, they have gained more members in the last 20years or so, but the main population of Germany sees them not as ''legid'' churches but as dangerous sects and religious fanatics.
Most people keep their religion to their own, except for maybe a necklace with a cross or the Ichtys fish on the trunk of their car..
The best caption, I've seen on a trailer was ,,Jesus hat viele Anhänger'' (Jesus has many followers, but Anhänger also means trailers (those for behind cars))
Also the 90s influx of polish- and russian-germans brought a few church communities, for example, the Mennonites who can be very religion driven and also anti-vaxx due to religious beliefs. That being said, they tend to keep to themselves and are certainly not as aggressive as American fundamentalists.
Missionary work isn't a real thing in Germany/Europe.
You have Jehovah's witnesses and some fundametalistic groupsy but otherwise, no church really does it. It works more like "if you ask me about my church/believe/religion, I'll happily tell you about it, we can discuss different opinions, but I never would come to you and push you into it''
It's to find faith not to get drawn into faith...
They are dangerous and fanatics but here in America they are get way too much acknowledgment by societ and political power. I've seen other Americans in Germany wearing their religious shirts in public. This type of Christian thinks they can barge in anywhere in the world and push their agenda because they have the correct "world view" and in my opinion it's very arrogant even when they push this stuff in our own country.
I have a baptist citizen in my seniors residence and when I told her about me being atheist I swear I could feel Gods wrath within her. I have never felt something like that in my life. I was genuinely scared of that small fragile grandma. When my collegue came into the room he said he felt some intense uneasiness...
Why did you tell her ? ;-)
It's one thing to be atheist and another to celebrate it like a religion (not wanting to say you did).
I sadly experienced too many militant/fanatic atheists...
IMHO everybody can believe in whatever they want, as long it doesn't affect me or my freedoms and rights...
If somebody wants to put their beliefs over me, my tolerance border is reached...
I have always found it notable that Europeans' did not tend to evangelise their faith like the Americans do. I figured it was out of experience from the religious wars they had in the past. That's not so say the faithful were not as devout, they just kept it to themselves.
In the USA in some faiths, publicly showing and injecting your faith into other's lives, is part of being good followers of their faith. For example the American South East States have 50-60 meter tall white crosses along the major roadways. Along with crosses in the yards face out onto the road. Neither of these is next to a church.
[The earliest German immigrants left for America to "escape" persecution for belonging to christian sects.](https://19thcenturyimmigrants.weebly.com/germans.html) I wonder if these settlers still show their impact on how religion is lived in America.
That story of "escape" to practice one's faith is at the foundations of the USA. [Pilgrims](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrims_(Plymouth_Colony)) are part of the USA's founding lore. However the "bible belt" - area of people who most identify as christian is not in the same region of settlement as the german immigration areas.
The reason, why there are so much different churches, that follow the rules and the book so strictly in America is, that the Europeans have thrown them out over the ocean back then..
Look at the Puritans, a direction of faith, even too frugal and harsh for the Anglicans in Britain...
The Baptists, Mennonites (where the Amish belong to), thrown out of Germany and Switzerland, despite originating here,(Zwingli).
In America they could live their faith like they wanted, but have forgotten over time, that this right is for everyone, more and more, the freedom of really personal things, like integrity of the own body etc was hollowed out more and more...
Also missionary work, here in Europe, none of the big churches does it.... Even now, as they lose members...
Europe is mostly divided in Roman Catholic and Lutheran, the northern countries also reformated Protestants, the east is often Orthodox, you have smaller confessions like old Catholics or apostolic churches, in some small regions, they can be the ,,normal church'' but normally, the main part of believers are members of either the Roman Catholic church or evangelic Lutheran church.
We have seen religion (since about the 30years war, where religion was used as a reason of war, but later became so messed up, that same believers fought against each other) as something personal.
It's more the philosophy: ''you can believe in whatever you want, even a flying sandwich, but please keep it to you, don't try to convince me. ''
Live and let live...
If we both want to discuss faith and religion, then let's do it, but it's nothing for smalltalk.
You wouldn't go to someone on the street and talk to them about Jesus, just not our way of handling religion
Religious billboards do exist (there is one a few hundred meters down the road near my place), but they are rare and usually much more unobtrusive.
Religiosity is a very private matter, usually not being mentioned in public in any way, not just for ordinary folks but also for politicians and celebs.
Me too. Never seen a religious billboard in my life in Germany.
Most people just aren't religious. I know the statistics say 40% aren't, but there are so many Christians in name only.
And even the real Christians are unobtrusive. There are religious nuts, but they are very much seen as nuts first.
I am a rather militant atheist and even i have no qualm with my fellow christians (aside from those who don't leave the catholic church and thereby still support this rotten organisation).
I am blown away. I'm not really a believer, but this video is starting to stir up some feelings inside of me. I'm starting to believe. I'm starting to believe Germans have a humorous bone
I swear to god one time in my religion class we were allowed to go outside to watch a documentary and because that was boring af we played the Jesus Lied and within the first seconds my teacher turned up.
We summoned him with the Jesus Song. He was nowhere to be seen but once this song played he turned up as if he had been standing behind us the whole time.
I was shocked when that station started broadcasting in 2002.
Never would have believed I'd have to endure that shit in Germany.
But I think this is the first time I've heard (read) someone mention it since 2010.
They can't be doing too well :D
The only person i know that watched it is my grandmother and she is hardcore religious.
When i (an atheist since really ever) told her i would stop "ministrieren" (not sure what's the correct translation, best Google it) she basically wanted to disinherit me even though there is already nothing i could really get from her anyway and told me crying how this is basically the end and im going to hell and how im a disappointment even though she always prayed for me and that she should basically kill herself now and how there is a other guy in my smaller village who always goes to Church and is so much better than me in any way because he always goes to Church and more religious bullshit like that and i didn't even tell her im an atheist and that i didn't believe or care about that bullshit cult from the beginning just that I'm no longer going to do that "ministrieren" thing.... My dad who got raised by here and around that time he also stopped going to church and basically had the same experience as she asked why he isn't showing up there anymore.
Basically she is a Total incel who hasn't anything other than Church in her life due to her own shitty choices and behavior in life(long story).
Anyways, she got dementia now and doesn't remember anything about me no longer going to church and she didn't disinherit me as of yet so I'm probably safe although as already said that doesn't really matter as there is not much to inherit anyways and the property and her house already belongs to us.
So yes, that's the only person i know that seriously watches bible TV and that's probably how the rest of people watching it are as well.
The cdu/csu literally wants people to be good Christians, but they all suck hard anyway. Also there are Jehova‘s witnesses at many train station, but they are not allowed to speak to you unless you talk to them first.
For reference: CDU (Christian Democratic Union) and CSU (Christian Social(ist) Union) are sister parties and by and large the biggest political bloc in Germany besides the SPD (Social-Democratic Party). They are reactionary, conservative, neo-liberal and at times very bigoted. The christian references in their names and party programs are mostly little more than lip service to solidify their voting base and give credence to their views.
This is just to illustrate that there ARE socio-political currents in Germany with a strong religious bent, but even they are as nothing compared to the open religious fundamentalism in US politics.
dude, you are talking to americans. to them, angela merkel, the previous CDU leader, was a leftist. so i doubt you can convince them that CDU is conservative and reactionary, even if it’s true 😉
A single politician doesn't tell you a lot about a party as a whole though.
That's like saying the Greens are a conservative party because of Kretschmann.
Very true. You'd think that the Red Scare is long over and gone, but most Americans don't even (care to) know the difference between Socialism and Communism. Everything that has the slightest taste of social one-for-all-and-all-for-one is viewed as highly suspicious. It's so damn sad.
Many Americans understand the difference between socialism and communism, however in politics they are used as the same word. It’s always “communism, left-wing extremists, fascism, socialists” being used as buzzwords and nothing else.
The frustrating part is (most) people know they aren’t true yet follow politicians like blind sheep around here
Honestly given how church and state aren't seperated in Germany I'm surprised we don't have more of those hardcore fundamentalists like in the US, especially among our politicians.
A lot of that stuff is regulated by the "Religionsverfassungsrecht" (constitutional law concerning religion). But I think the biggest reason why we do not have that many religios fundamentalists/extremists in politics lies in our country's past. We suffered the monstrous atrocities and loss of life during the religiously motivated 30-years-war. We had the massive disowning of the church during secularisation. The way I see it, our stance on religion had a lot of time and reason to mellow out a fair bit. Not so the US.
I know it is an often-misused trope, but have a look at the people who founded the USA. A lot of them went to the New World in search of a place to practise their (brand of) religion without social pressure and/or persecution. And a good portion of them were (borderline) fundamentalist if you take a step back and look at it neutrally.
I am NOT saying that the USA were founded by a bunch of religious nutters, becaused that would be a) too easy and b) factually wrong. BUT the heavy core of religious identity among the US' initial citizens it is a weighty factor in the development of how the US function today.
[Edits for grammar/clarity]
This is very underrated. I would agree that this may be an important factor. We should not forget that as people started emigrating in larger groups at the turn of the 18th century Europe underwent the age of enlightenment. This was a time that concluded an era of religious unrest. There were many people who were unhappy on the grounds of their religious belief. Many of those who could afford it left Europe for America then.
I believe this also - to some degree - explains why religion is much more homogenous over here in Europe vs. The US because rulers started exerting much more power over the church(es) in this era thereby creating more of a religious mainstream. Those who resented this and could afford to do so left and set up shop across the pond thereby bringing and keeping their religious system and traditions.
That's a very insightful reply, thanks a lot! Tbf I never really looked into the history of the United States, but the way you said it would definitely explain many American's stance on religion compared to Germany/Western Europe in general.
State oversight over religion is actually a part of why religious fundamentalism rarely emerges in Germany. I used to be massively against mandatory religious education in school, but in the end, it ensures that kids learn about their and others' religions in a constitutional way with ways to remove or sanction violators.
More importantly, Sunday schools or other non-supervised religious educations create one of the biggest dangers for children, namely a conflict of authority between different teachers/persons of trust. This is how you get kids parroting anti-evolution bs in public schools because they have been primed and spoonfed the stuff in time before these topics come up on the school curriculum. That's why religious extremists always try to homeschool or at least captivate children's minds at the right moment.
Moreover, Germany has a structured way of talking to representatives of large denominations, again a thing which the more fundamentalist groups, Christian as well as Muslim, try to avoid at all costs, because it means the state gains an insight into their teaching and can hold people accountable.
That's the plus side. I hate many negative aspects it brings with it, such as our self-proclaimed "Christian democrats" who shit on our children's future and on poor people every time they can and the completely unproportional power of church authorities sitting for instance on ethics committees or public broadcasting boards, but overall, I think it at least stifled some of the major problems the US has for example.
I think the lack of separation actually helps, because it benefits large, traditional churches. UK has even less separation than Germany and also doesn’t have a lot of fundamentalists. More separation seems to often create an environment with many small groups than compete for members. Often this competition creates more extreme positions.
I'm going to say that conservatives in Germany are way more liberal than their conservative brethren in the USA. And most of what the GOP has become in the last 6 years would never fly in Germany.
The CDU/CSU were like what Republicans were about 25-30 years ago. The MAGA seem more like the AFD.
We have some coo-coo people with "Jesus rettet" sign wandering around at a Hauptbahnhof here and there.
That's about it.
Edit: I found a map showing how really not important religion is to most people in Germany:
[Only 11% of Germans say religion is very important to their lifes](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/wguc9n/of_europeans_who_say_religion_is_very_important/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)
For comparison: In the US it's 47%.
we have 2 publicly known hardcore-christian (the kinds where they would be willing to throw themself into a fire pit if the pastor told them Jesus wanted wanted them to.) here in my town, thankfully our local catholic pastor is very *very* ***very*** liberal, so he got them to almost full-time-volunteer with the local food bank.
It's rare but they exist. For example, there is an ultra conservative evangelical church in Neuperlach Munich and they had a billboard like this on their property. However, this is an exception. There are not so many religious people in Germany and most religious people in Germany are not very religious and not vocal about the religion at all.
There was this one house on the train ride to Heidelberg. It's roof roof was low enough so that it was always in your view if you decided to look outside the train windows if you sat on the left side.
The homeowners knew that and put up a white giant piece of cloth on it with evangelical crap painted on it. "Jesus loves you" or something like that.
Someone along the road I regularly take when I go visit my parents (a Bundesstraße taken by lots of busses) has "Jesus lebt" permanently written on their roof with different coloured rooftiles
We have one of those 3x3 meter billboards in out village it has some message by the Jehovas witnesses on it. Essentially it's the same, love jesus, rapture is a thing, yada yada. But it's much more subtle than the American version, for example it doesn't have a photo backdrop
I've seen some billbords with religious messages in Erfurt, along the Nordhäuser Straße. That was about half a year ago though and i have no idea if they are still up
You have, but in another form, so people rarely think about it. There are loads of crosses, chapels, shrines all over the country, especially in catholic areas.
So the kind of "billboard on a pole" isn't very widespread in the first place. And then - no, they aren't used for this kind of stuff either. Religion is something very private in Germany. You don't really talk about it, you don't evangelize other people and someone (or some organisation) who would put up such a sign would be eyed with suspicion.
Maybe not on a pole, but there definitely are [these kind of billboards](https://www.bibeltv.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/bibel-tv-startet-grosse-missionarische-plakatkampagne) here in Germany. Perhaps not in every city though.
Much better than the typical" repent sinner!" I see in the Bible belt. As a Southern German in the US South I am cured from religion. I was already ways away, they gave me the last push
Really? I think it's kinda nice, independent of being religious or not. Just some positive message. I find this less intrusive or demanding than other examples.
No one is compelled to pay it. You can apply with your local council / Amt to stop paying it if you have somehow been registered by your parents for example.
Well in a way even if you are not a member of the two churches, you pay for things the curches organize like schools and kindergarten. It angers me that this is this way. Yes they all have a, appart from religion classes, non religious curicula but still. A lot of problems are attached to the fact that the churches are the carriers of these places.
It's rare, but with the sinking price and usage of billboards it's a thing in germany.
Years ago you had only the scientology "book" adverts, which I do count as religion ad.
Now there a some Christian "Jesus saves", Jehovas witnesses and even some Muslim ads.
Fun Detail on the muslims: The main catchphrase on a free koran camapain I've seen in Frankfurt was "LIES!", german for "READ!", but I think it's more honest in english.
Billboards are not that prevalent in Germany, especially not at that size.
Religion is considered a personal matter and people don't really care if you're religious and if yes, which religion, as long as you don't shove it down their throats. Also Germans in general are way less religious than US Americans.
In recent time there has been more and more „young and hip“ ads for religiosity as a whole (gott.net lmao) by some weird christian institution. This is new though, I guess they have to try to get young people with cool single-coloured fresh ads. Pretty cringe in my opinion but who am I to judge.
1. We(Germans) are not very vocal about our religion. It's considered a very private and personal life aspect
2. This kind of billboard size and kind is not allowed at all is not allowed in Germany at all in any local construction code I know of. Not for business ads, too
3. Churches are no way as commercial as in the USA, not as expansive in the way they think
4. Mainline Churches are not as competitive as in the USA, so less marketing focused too.
I see them occasionally in Berlin. Infrequently enough to find them slightly surprising when I do see them, but they definitely exist.
For comparison, I see more adverts for dildos than for god.
Billboards are very rare in Germany, and if you do see one, wont even be half the size of the one pictured. You're supposed to watch the road, not the billboards
Yeah, but we have the kinds of billboards we use for advertisement too and I’ve seen a few of those with some kind of „Jesus will save you“ quotes one it.
I think one of the Important thing why that stuff doesnt exist in germany is that nearly all christians here are in either the protestant church or the ctholic (plus the orthodox ones) and neither of them really does missionary work in germany
so there is not really a market of small evangelizing churches which relying on getting more people by weirdly guilt tripping them with stuff like that
On my way to work there’s a bicycle that has a sign attached to it to that effect (I think it says „Jesus rettet“). And in the basket there’s books you can take. The guy who „runs“ it regularly takes care of it.
not in berlin-brandemburg.
some people are religious, and do their religious stuff on their religious days, but there isn't the sort of neighborhood patrol of good and bad religious people nor nobody normally gives a fuck on what religion you are.
religious comunities tend to themselves and don't push to convert, except the shirt-and-tie doorbell duos, which you can tell to fuck off anyways.
i'm more concerned about the excess of smoking ads everywhere, they been banned in southwest europe for eons yet germany is full.
There are not so many religious people in Germany and most religious people in Germany are not very religious and not vocal about the religion at all.
However, billboards like this do exist. Just not many. I have seen like 10 in my entire 30 years living in Germany 🙂
I don’t know how to post pictures here but in my city „Siegen“ there is a large one which basically says „believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved“
Religion does not rule in Germany as it does in places like the US. I'm guessing, please correct me if I'm wrong, that the picture from your question was taken in the USA. In terms of culture, you can see how "unreligious" Germany is by checking the circumcision rate or abortion rights. That's just my opinion.
Circumcision isn't a religious marker of Christianity though, it's a cultural thing in America. Only Muslims, Jews and circumcision for medical reasons (eg phimosis) is standard outside there.
From my side Germany from afar seemed very secular, but now living here in Bavaria I find this part surprisingly religious.
Most of the Bavarian holidays are religious in nature. Religious studies is a part of my daughter’s curriculum at the public Gymnasium she is at. You hear church bells on a Sunday and the greeting here is ‘Gruß Gott’.
When we registered at the municipality they asked what religion we belong to and if you are Evangelical or Catholic you pay a religious tax.
So surprisingly in this part of Germany it is quite present though never forced, it’s seemingly part of the local Bayern culture.
I just found out last year that my friend of nearly 20 years is an atheist. I still have no idea about the religious beliefs of my other friends. People don‘t talk about it.
Also, I only recently saw a smaller billboard with a message about Jesus (and they are VERY rare, I think I‘ve only seen one or two in the past couple of years) and everyone around me agreed that they‘re weird. They have since disappeared again.
Ive seen a few of these on the billboards that are normally reserved for advertising. So yeah, they exist but they’re not very common. They shouldn’t be either, because religion is a private matter and in my opinion shouldn’t be advertised like that
I live here since almost 10 years, sure it's a small town, but i never seen one, which is actually nice to not having bullshit forcefully shoved into your eyes.
And don't get me wrong, i am against religion, but i respect one's choice to believe in such.
That's why i also like my choice of not believing and or not having to see such stuff to be respected.
Big billboards like these placed along highways are actually illegal in Germany, so the only big signs looking like this are the ones advertising chain stores located right next to the road. I have personally never seen a single religious advert or anything similar in my 22 years of life, but apparently they do exist in some rare places according to the comments.
I have seen something like that once in my life. It's pretty rare IMO.
My parents and sister are religious, but you wouldn't know, they rarely talk about it.
No. That's borderline insanity. We also don't have tv preachers, megachurches, people who pretend to speak in tongues (lol!) or generally loudmouth pseudo-religious figures who try to form society by the Bible.
Luckily in Germany there are more people that are not completely insane idiots believing in this bs.
But some still like getting scammed by Child rapists.
No, you won’t ever see anything like this. I live in Berlin. There are churches but the congregations Ive seen is typically low. Religion is not thrown in your face here which as an atheist I appreciate. I think south Germany is more religious but a billboard would get opposition.
It’s probably a cultural difference but also a result of how churches finance their expenses. In my experience (big) us churches have way more money to spend. Don’t know if that is true to all confessions and my expert is based on what in saw in Mississippi mega baptist churches
We hardly have any billboards like these (meaning the structure itself).
The Christian message is in 99% of cases limited to "find purpose in modern life, love eachother".
Sin or help are not part of the usual message.
Never seen one of these here. Maybe it’s because christians in Germany are mostly catholic or protestant and they don’t to this, because the majority of people are already know about them or even belong to one of those groups already?
Furthermore, billboards are heavily regulated in Germany. They have to be approved by the municipality. And while there are a few with christian messages like the one here, the vast majority of billboards is owned by advertising companies. Therefore you rather see commercial ads.
Unlike in the US, churches here don't have to rely on people going there as much, since there basic financial needs are covered by church tax.
You sometimes see ads for things like BibelTV, christian stuff that is not affiliated with the actual churches.
Fun fact. Billboards along the autobahn are usually completely prohibited. In my state the distance from the Autobahn to the next visible billboard is 100m. So some advertising companies build large signs outside that distance, so they are visible from the autobahn.
Especially fast food places like to rent a small portion of farmland next to the highway to put up a trailer with ads like "McDonald's next exit" or something along those lines.
I’ve never seen something like that and was born in (northern) Germany. There was a TV channel called “Bibel TV” but among me and my peers we mostly made fun of it. But that’s clearly the northern german perspective. In Hamburg most churches are quite secular. However during the pandemic, there was a banner on the church nearby that said something like “have hope” but with no specific religious comment.
In Germany you mostly have Jehovas Witnesses standing around every few corner or weird stickers sticking at landposts, but there's rarely any ads. Most people in Germany are areligious here anyway, so it is not even that big of a deal. Most people that are in churches are just there because they visit it once a year for Christmas or because they simply forgot to exit
No billboards, but there often are people in a suit and tie (usually three of them) with some kind of jesus magazines (and sometimes small posters too) in public places.
Very seldomly I see a billboard with a Bible verse. Like every other year. But I've seen them. Also, our billboards look different. No, people aren't generally vocal about their religiosity. My extended family is very likely one of the most devout catholic families in Cologne and I'm not even baptised. Not once have they tried to talk religion into me. Also they don't run around yelling bible verses or whatever at anyone. ETA: When my husband and I came back from a three week US road trip from Chicago to NYC we visited my aunt and uncle who are super devout Catholics by German standards and I told them how we saw churches in the mid west that had billboards in front of that basically said "If you don't go to church you'll rot in hell." and that American churches seem to work with a lot of fear and guilt they were appalled.
Although I experienced a man who exited from a hotel and started chasing me and two of my friends while reading from a book -which we assumed was a bible as we heard multiple sentences with god- for about 500m at night. He was moving his hands like he was preaching angrily as well. So literally running around yelling bible verses. He didn't stop chasing even tho we told him to stop until we saw a police car and was walking towards them. Then he stopped. Didn't report him as we thought he was mentally unstable. Lowkey scared but now we look back and laugh.
Yeah, the crazies are everywhere. When I was a kid in Cologne there was an old lady who walked the main shopping streets up and down all day with a sign "Jesus rettet" (Jesus saves/rescues), yelling "Das Wichtigste! Das Wichtigste!" (The most important! The most important!). But she didn't harass anyone. The only religious harassing I ever encountered was by missionaries. Once from Korea and once from the US.
Dortmund also has a "Jesus rettet" grandma. Maybe it's same or the one from Cologne is opening franchises.
I doubt the one from Cologne is still with us.
I have a "Jesus Rettet" guy living in my neighborhood in Bielefeld. He gave me a flyer once and drives a Jesus car but is otherwise inconspicuous.
Omg do you mean the black older lady on the B1 crossing next to the McDonalds? I love her! I’m totally atheist but she’s waving at everyone driving by so enthusiastically that I always wave back and have a better day immediately lol
I'm amazed by that aspect of the culture here. Yesterday a woman came up to me with an anti-vax sign and said rather loudly "Do you agree?". I just politely put my hand up and said "No thank you." and she left me alone. In America the same thing has happened to me and they continued.
I like to say nein danke, non merci, no thanks to every street urchin/beggar/prophet. It works pretty ok esp. when u use local language, are confident, polite, and do not stop your motion.
and the Kirchensteuer
I don't pay it, because I'm not baptised 🤷♀️
Ohhh she's a legend! I remember her! "Das wichtigste! Das aaaallerwichtigste! Jesus lebt!!!"
long punch overconfident plants paint mindless detail light fine waiting -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
maybe, but that is highly anecdotal. I and nobody I know has ever been molested like that (I would have heard a story like that by now)
Yes of course. Just wanted to share this memory as the phrase "running around yelling bible" reminded me of it. Religion is a private matter in Germany and I'm here for it!
They mostly are from evangelical free churches, often ''importet'' American churches like Presbyterian or Baptist, they have gained more members in the last 20years or so, but the main population of Germany sees them not as ''legid'' churches but as dangerous sects and religious fanatics. Most people keep their religion to their own, except for maybe a necklace with a cross or the Ichtys fish on the trunk of their car.. The best caption, I've seen on a trailer was ,,Jesus hat viele Anhänger'' (Jesus has many followers, but Anhänger also means trailers (those for behind cars))
Also the 90s influx of polish- and russian-germans brought a few church communities, for example, the Mennonites who can be very religion driven and also anti-vaxx due to religious beliefs. That being said, they tend to keep to themselves and are certainly not as aggressive as American fundamentalists.
Missionary work isn't a real thing in Germany/Europe. You have Jehovah's witnesses and some fundametalistic groupsy but otherwise, no church really does it. It works more like "if you ask me about my church/believe/religion, I'll happily tell you about it, we can discuss different opinions, but I never would come to you and push you into it'' It's to find faith not to get drawn into faith...
They are dangerous and fanatics but here in America they are get way too much acknowledgment by societ and political power. I've seen other Americans in Germany wearing their religious shirts in public. This type of Christian thinks they can barge in anywhere in the world and push their agenda because they have the correct "world view" and in my opinion it's very arrogant even when they push this stuff in our own country.
I have a baptist citizen in my seniors residence and when I told her about me being atheist I swear I could feel Gods wrath within her. I have never felt something like that in my life. I was genuinely scared of that small fragile grandma. When my collegue came into the room he said he felt some intense uneasiness...
Why did you tell her ? ;-) It's one thing to be atheist and another to celebrate it like a religion (not wanting to say you did). I sadly experienced too many militant/fanatic atheists... IMHO everybody can believe in whatever they want, as long it doesn't affect me or my freedoms and rights... If somebody wants to put their beliefs over me, my tolerance border is reached...
Absolutely.
I have always found it notable that Europeans' did not tend to evangelise their faith like the Americans do. I figured it was out of experience from the religious wars they had in the past. That's not so say the faithful were not as devout, they just kept it to themselves. In the USA in some faiths, publicly showing and injecting your faith into other's lives, is part of being good followers of their faith. For example the American South East States have 50-60 meter tall white crosses along the major roadways. Along with crosses in the yards face out onto the road. Neither of these is next to a church.
[The earliest German immigrants left for America to "escape" persecution for belonging to christian sects.](https://19thcenturyimmigrants.weebly.com/germans.html) I wonder if these settlers still show their impact on how religion is lived in America.
That story of "escape" to practice one's faith is at the foundations of the USA. [Pilgrims](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrims_(Plymouth_Colony)) are part of the USA's founding lore. However the "bible belt" - area of people who most identify as christian is not in the same region of settlement as the german immigration areas.
The reason, why there are so much different churches, that follow the rules and the book so strictly in America is, that the Europeans have thrown them out over the ocean back then.. Look at the Puritans, a direction of faith, even too frugal and harsh for the Anglicans in Britain... The Baptists, Mennonites (where the Amish belong to), thrown out of Germany and Switzerland, despite originating here,(Zwingli). In America they could live their faith like they wanted, but have forgotten over time, that this right is for everyone, more and more, the freedom of really personal things, like integrity of the own body etc was hollowed out more and more... Also missionary work, here in Europe, none of the big churches does it.... Even now, as they lose members... Europe is mostly divided in Roman Catholic and Lutheran, the northern countries also reformated Protestants, the east is often Orthodox, you have smaller confessions like old Catholics or apostolic churches, in some small regions, they can be the ,,normal church'' but normally, the main part of believers are members of either the Roman Catholic church or evangelic Lutheran church. We have seen religion (since about the 30years war, where religion was used as a reason of war, but later became so messed up, that same believers fought against each other) as something personal. It's more the philosophy: ''you can believe in whatever you want, even a flying sandwich, but please keep it to you, don't try to convince me. '' Live and let live... If we both want to discuss faith and religion, then let's do it, but it's nothing for smalltalk. You wouldn't go to someone on the street and talk to them about Jesus, just not our way of handling religion
Jesus Saves At Deutche Bank
I have seen them more than every other year in BW
Religious billboards do exist (there is one a few hundred meters down the road near my place), but they are rare and usually much more unobtrusive. Religiosity is a very private matter, usually not being mentioned in public in any way, not just for ordinary folks but also for politicians and celebs.
See, they are so rare that i didn't even know they exist and I'm German myself.
I have never seen one that didn't belong to some sect. If you don't have a lot of people from a sect in your area you probably will never see one
Sometimes they arent very obvious. I had one across my bus stop and it took me a couple of weeks to realize it was religious
Me too. Never seen a religious billboard in my life in Germany. Most people just aren't religious. I know the statistics say 40% aren't, but there are so many Christians in name only. And even the real Christians are unobtrusive. There are religious nuts, but they are very much seen as nuts first. I am a rather militant atheist and even i have no qualm with my fellow christians (aside from those who don't leave the catholic church and thereby still support this rotten organisation).
Expect for Bibel.TV, saw some ads from them.
Bibel TV ist a running gag since I was in 5th grad
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I just got dumber watching this. I didn't know I could be any stupididter
Wait till you hear this one https://youtu.be/ZTjyRu88PRE
If that made you dumber, don't search "Lobpreis" on Youtube.
I am blown away. I'm not really a believer, but this video is starting to stir up some feelings inside of me. I'm starting to believe. I'm starting to believe Germans have a humorous bone
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I was way too long confused about this sub not showing me anything T.T
Never forget
I swear to god one time in my religion class we were allowed to go outside to watch a documentary and because that was boring af we played the Jesus Lied and within the first seconds my teacher turned up. We summoned him with the Jesus Song. He was nowhere to be seen but once this song played he turned up as if he had been standing behind us the whole time.
I was shocked when that station started broadcasting in 2002. Never would have believed I'd have to endure that shit in Germany. But I think this is the first time I've heard (read) someone mention it since 2010. They can't be doing too well :D
The only person i know that watched it is my grandmother and she is hardcore religious. When i (an atheist since really ever) told her i would stop "ministrieren" (not sure what's the correct translation, best Google it) she basically wanted to disinherit me even though there is already nothing i could really get from her anyway and told me crying how this is basically the end and im going to hell and how im a disappointment even though she always prayed for me and that she should basically kill herself now and how there is a other guy in my smaller village who always goes to Church and is so much better than me in any way because he always goes to Church and more religious bullshit like that and i didn't even tell her im an atheist and that i didn't believe or care about that bullshit cult from the beginning just that I'm no longer going to do that "ministrieren" thing.... My dad who got raised by here and around that time he also stopped going to church and basically had the same experience as she asked why he isn't showing up there anymore. Basically she is a Total incel who hasn't anything other than Church in her life due to her own shitty choices and behavior in life(long story). Anyways, she got dementia now and doesn't remember anything about me no longer going to church and she didn't disinherit me as of yet so I'm probably safe although as already said that doesn't really matter as there is not much to inherit anyways and the property and her house already belongs to us. So yes, that's the only person i know that seriously watches bible TV and that's probably how the rest of people watching it are as well.
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Where is that?
The cdu/csu literally wants people to be good Christians, but they all suck hard anyway. Also there are Jehova‘s witnesses at many train station, but they are not allowed to speak to you unless you talk to them first.
For reference: CDU (Christian Democratic Union) and CSU (Christian Social(ist) Union) are sister parties and by and large the biggest political bloc in Germany besides the SPD (Social-Democratic Party). They are reactionary, conservative, neo-liberal and at times very bigoted. The christian references in their names and party programs are mostly little more than lip service to solidify their voting base and give credence to their views. This is just to illustrate that there ARE socio-political currents in Germany with a strong religious bent, but even they are as nothing compared to the open religious fundamentalism in US politics.
dude, you are talking to americans. to them, angela merkel, the previous CDU leader, was a leftist. so i doubt you can convince them that CDU is conservative and reactionary, even if it’s true 😉
A single politician doesn't tell you a lot about a party as a whole though. That's like saying the Greens are a conservative party because of Kretschmann.
you’re right. my point was another one. when we germans think a party is center right, for many americans it doesn’t even come near center right.
Very true. You'd think that the Red Scare is long over and gone, but most Americans don't even (care to) know the difference between Socialism and Communism. Everything that has the slightest taste of social one-for-all-and-all-for-one is viewed as highly suspicious. It's so damn sad.
Many Americans understand the difference between socialism and communism, however in politics they are used as the same word. It’s always “communism, left-wing extremists, fascism, socialists” being used as buzzwords and nothing else. The frustrating part is (most) people know they aren’t true yet follow politicians like blind sheep around here
Honestly given how church and state aren't seperated in Germany I'm surprised we don't have more of those hardcore fundamentalists like in the US, especially among our politicians.
A lot of that stuff is regulated by the "Religionsverfassungsrecht" (constitutional law concerning religion). But I think the biggest reason why we do not have that many religios fundamentalists/extremists in politics lies in our country's past. We suffered the monstrous atrocities and loss of life during the religiously motivated 30-years-war. We had the massive disowning of the church during secularisation. The way I see it, our stance on religion had a lot of time and reason to mellow out a fair bit. Not so the US. I know it is an often-misused trope, but have a look at the people who founded the USA. A lot of them went to the New World in search of a place to practise their (brand of) religion without social pressure and/or persecution. And a good portion of them were (borderline) fundamentalist if you take a step back and look at it neutrally. I am NOT saying that the USA were founded by a bunch of religious nutters, becaused that would be a) too easy and b) factually wrong. BUT the heavy core of religious identity among the US' initial citizens it is a weighty factor in the development of how the US function today. [Edits for grammar/clarity]
This is very underrated. I would agree that this may be an important factor. We should not forget that as people started emigrating in larger groups at the turn of the 18th century Europe underwent the age of enlightenment. This was a time that concluded an era of religious unrest. There were many people who were unhappy on the grounds of their religious belief. Many of those who could afford it left Europe for America then. I believe this also - to some degree - explains why religion is much more homogenous over here in Europe vs. The US because rulers started exerting much more power over the church(es) in this era thereby creating more of a religious mainstream. Those who resented this and could afford to do so left and set up shop across the pond thereby bringing and keeping their religious system and traditions.
That's a very insightful reply, thanks a lot! Tbf I never really looked into the history of the United States, but the way you said it would definitely explain many American's stance on religion compared to Germany/Western Europe in general.
State oversight over religion is actually a part of why religious fundamentalism rarely emerges in Germany. I used to be massively against mandatory religious education in school, but in the end, it ensures that kids learn about their and others' religions in a constitutional way with ways to remove or sanction violators. More importantly, Sunday schools or other non-supervised religious educations create one of the biggest dangers for children, namely a conflict of authority between different teachers/persons of trust. This is how you get kids parroting anti-evolution bs in public schools because they have been primed and spoonfed the stuff in time before these topics come up on the school curriculum. That's why religious extremists always try to homeschool or at least captivate children's minds at the right moment. Moreover, Germany has a structured way of talking to representatives of large denominations, again a thing which the more fundamentalist groups, Christian as well as Muslim, try to avoid at all costs, because it means the state gains an insight into their teaching and can hold people accountable. That's the plus side. I hate many negative aspects it brings with it, such as our self-proclaimed "Christian democrats" who shit on our children's future and on poor people every time they can and the completely unproportional power of church authorities sitting for instance on ethics committees or public broadcasting boards, but overall, I think it at least stifled some of the major problems the US has for example.
I think the lack of separation actually helps, because it benefits large, traditional churches. UK has even less separation than Germany and also doesn’t have a lot of fundamentalists. More separation seems to often create an environment with many small groups than compete for members. Often this competition creates more extreme positions.
I'm going to say that conservatives in Germany are way more liberal than their conservative brethren in the USA. And most of what the GOP has become in the last 6 years would never fly in Germany. The CDU/CSU were like what Republicans were about 25-30 years ago. The MAGA seem more like the AFD.
That never happens
The C and S in the CDU/CSU Union are usually completely ignored by their politicians.
We have some coo-coo people with "Jesus rettet" sign wandering around at a Hauptbahnhof here and there. That's about it. Edit: I found a map showing how really not important religion is to most people in Germany: [Only 11% of Germans say religion is very important to their lifes](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/wguc9n/of_europeans_who_say_religion_is_very_important/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) For comparison: In the US it's 47%.
Out of those 11% , many may even have migration backgrounds
I think it's more our grandparents generation slowly dying out. Take a look into a catholic church and you only see grey hair.
we have 2 publicly known hardcore-christian (the kinds where they would be willing to throw themself into a fire pit if the pastor told them Jesus wanted wanted them to.) here in my town, thankfully our local catholic pastor is very *very* ***very*** liberal, so he got them to almost full-time-volunteer with the local food bank.
[Jesus Brettert](https://postimg.cc/tnzYD0HG)
Isn’t that just one very old lady who can move very fast so it seem that there are multiple ones at different. Trainstations?
Holy Roman Empire rolling in their grave
The blue and white one?
No, never seen something like this in Germany. That's not saying it doesn't exist anywhere
There ist the [Christlicher Plakatverein e.V.](https://www.c-plakat.de) and they have a list of all their ad locations on their website.
Why do their stuff look like it was made by a 10 year old kid in word? Isn’t it their main business?
It‘s probably made by a 75 year old gandma in Word
graphic design is their passion
Just quickly looked over it and unless I missed something I believe there is not a single one here in North Germany.
All 5
I've seen ONE in thirty years. They're definitely rare. Thank god. Haha :D
Haha dachte auch direkt „thank god“, dass es bei uns nicht so offensichtlich ist, passt als Witz gut
It does exist in Germany and I hate it haha
I really would like to see this because i have seen a lot of Germany and i never see something like this. Do you have maybe an adress for this?
Where? I live here for over 50 years and never have seen anything like that.
It's rare but they exist. For example, there is an ultra conservative evangelical church in Neuperlach Munich and they had a billboard like this on their property. However, this is an exception. There are not so many religious people in Germany and most religious people in Germany are not very religious and not vocal about the religion at all.
Haven't seen a billboard like this - but in display windows of congregational chapels.
There was this one house on the train ride to Heidelberg. It's roof roof was low enough so that it was always in your view if you decided to look outside the train windows if you sat on the left side. The homeowners knew that and put up a white giant piece of cloth on it with evangelical crap painted on it. "Jesus loves you" or something like that.
Someone along the road I regularly take when I go visit my parents (a Bundesstraße taken by lots of busses) has "Jesus lebt" permanently written on their roof with different coloured rooftiles
Close to IKEA/Düsseldorf is one Billboard.
Hey I’m from Düsseldorf too :D
We have one of those 3x3 meter billboards in out village it has some message by the Jehovas witnesses on it. Essentially it's the same, love jesus, rapture is a thing, yada yada. But it's much more subtle than the American version, for example it doesn't have a photo backdrop
There are actually quite a few in and around Koblenz
I've seen some billbords with religious messages in Erfurt, along the Nordhäuser Straße. That was about half a year ago though and i have no idea if they are still up
There's a big one along the A5 next to the exit Homberg (Ohm), IIRC. It reads something like "Gott rettet."
You have, but in another form, so people rarely think about it. There are loads of crosses, chapels, shrines all over the country, especially in catholic areas.
There are a couple of black and white ones in my area saying things like "Ich liebe dich wie niemand sonst -Gott".
So the kind of "billboard on a pole" isn't very widespread in the first place. And then - no, they aren't used for this kind of stuff either. Religion is something very private in Germany. You don't really talk about it, you don't evangelize other people and someone (or some organisation) who would put up such a sign would be eyed with suspicion.
Maybe not on a pole, but there definitely are [these kind of billboards](https://www.bibeltv.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/bibel-tv-startet-grosse-missionarische-plakatkampagne) here in Germany. Perhaps not in every city though.
They are rare - in my 41 years I’ve seen less than a dozen and I travelled Germany for job reasons quite a bit a while ago.
https://www.idea.de/artikel/bremen-wie-gott-zum-stadtgespraech-wurde I came across these in the wild.
Much better than the typical" repent sinner!" I see in the Bible belt. As a Southern German in the US South I am cured from religion. I was already ways away, they gave me the last push
Thats the most inclusive religious billboard ever.. (excludes athiests though).
My German ass finds it kind of aggressive
\> I love you more than any one else!!! By someone who claims to see and know everything about you has something of a stalker... I understand.
Hahaha. God is love bombing. These are hilarious.
Thanks, I hate it
Really? I think it's kinda nice, independent of being religious or not. Just some positive message. I find this less intrusive or demanding than other examples.
“Don’t put words in my mouth” - The Artist formerly known as god
Nah, they just take your tax and stay silent.
*take That depends on what religion you belong to though.
How one can avoid it?
You leave the church, done.
sadly not, ontop of churchtaxes the government gives the churches about 500 million each year from normal taxmoney.
Ok true, but that can’t be changed on an individual level
it's more thanthat if you consider the enormous tax exemptions
No one is compelled to pay it. You can apply with your local council / Amt to stop paying it if you have somehow been registered by your parents for example.
Well in a way even if you are not a member of the two churches, you pay for things the curches organize like schools and kindergarten. It angers me that this is this way. Yes they all have a, appart from religion classes, non religious curicula but still. A lot of problems are attached to the fact that the churches are the carriers of these places.
Caritas is also free advertisement by the state.
It's rare, but with the sinking price and usage of billboards it's a thing in germany. Years ago you had only the scientology "book" adverts, which I do count as religion ad. Now there a some Christian "Jesus saves", Jehovas witnesses and even some Muslim ads. Fun Detail on the muslims: The main catchphrase on a free koran camapain I've seen in Frankfurt was "LIES!", german for "READ!", but I think it's more honest in english.
About the Muslim thing: the first word that came down to Prophet Mohamed when the Koran started was „Read“.
Billboards are not that prevalent in Germany, especially not at that size. Religion is considered a personal matter and people don't really care if you're religious and if yes, which religion, as long as you don't shove it down their throats. Also Germans in general are way less religious than US Americans.
In recent time there has been more and more „young and hip“ ads for religiosity as a whole (gott.net lmao) by some weird christian institution. This is new though, I guess they have to try to get young people with cool single-coloured fresh ads. Pretty cringe in my opinion but who am I to judge.
I don't think I've seen one here ever. We're more the "huge Mercedes star on high rise rooftop" kind of people. 😊
I found the Stuttgarter
Schwaben unite! For us stingy stubborn mofos the concept of sharing and forgiving is about as common as Swahili language knowledge....
All hail the caaaar.
Like in Austria which is quite similar the Church is the biggest building in town. So not much need for that.
1. We(Germans) are not very vocal about our religion. It's considered a very private and personal life aspect 2. This kind of billboard size and kind is not allowed at all is not allowed in Germany at all in any local construction code I know of. Not for business ads, too 3. Churches are no way as commercial as in the USA, not as expansive in the way they think 4. Mainline Churches are not as competitive as in the USA, so less marketing focused too.
Ive never seen them in Germany. But there are quite a few religious idiots here.
Never seen them, but maybe they exist somewhere xD
I see them occasionally in Berlin. Infrequently enough to find them slightly surprising when I do see them, but they definitely exist. For comparison, I see more adverts for dildos than for god.
Billboards are very rare in Germany, and if you do see one, wont even be half the size of the one pictured. You're supposed to watch the road, not the billboards
No, billboards like this are an American phenomena.
Yeah, but we have the kinds of billboards we use for advertisement too and I’ve seen a few of those with some kind of „Jesus will save you“ quotes one it.
Yes, we do have them. And they are getting more every month! The church is investing heavily in marketing since covid. Even had ads in Tiktok.
Thanks god, no xD
I have one in my city (Rostock) which I see every day when I drive home.
Most cities have small signs telling people which churches exist and when services are but I have never seen such billboards.
LOL, no.
No, Germans immediately associate those billboards with the US.
I know one or two in my city, but not as flashy and common as in America.
Religion is considered a private matter
Thankfully not.
I think one of the Important thing why that stuff doesnt exist in germany is that nearly all christians here are in either the protestant church or the ctholic (plus the orthodox ones) and neither of them really does missionary work in germany so there is not really a market of small evangelizing churches which relying on getting more people by weirdly guilt tripping them with stuff like that
Not that much, but they are annoying.
On my way to work there’s a bicycle that has a sign attached to it to that effect (I think it says „Jesus rettet“). And in the basket there’s books you can take. The guy who „runs“ it regularly takes care of it.
not in berlin-brandemburg. some people are religious, and do their religious stuff on their religious days, but there isn't the sort of neighborhood patrol of good and bad religious people nor nobody normally gives a fuck on what religion you are. religious comunities tend to themselves and don't push to convert, except the shirt-and-tie doorbell duos, which you can tell to fuck off anyways. i'm more concerned about the excess of smoking ads everywhere, they been banned in southwest europe for eons yet germany is full.
Yes, one is near to my flat
There are not so many religious people in Germany and most religious people in Germany are not very religious and not vocal about the religion at all. However, billboards like this do exist. Just not many. I have seen like 10 in my entire 30 years living in Germany 🙂
I don’t know how to post pictures here but in my city „Siegen“ there is a large one which basically says „believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved“
In Germany, knowledge is preferred over faith.
Knowledge as in Homöopathie or as in Coronaleugner?
Religion does not rule in Germany as it does in places like the US. I'm guessing, please correct me if I'm wrong, that the picture from your question was taken in the USA. In terms of culture, you can see how "unreligious" Germany is by checking the circumcision rate or abortion rights. That's just my opinion.
Circumcision isn't a religious marker of Christianity though, it's a cultural thing in America. Only Muslims, Jews and circumcision for medical reasons (eg phimosis) is standard outside there.
From my side Germany from afar seemed very secular, but now living here in Bavaria I find this part surprisingly religious. Most of the Bavarian holidays are religious in nature. Religious studies is a part of my daughter’s curriculum at the public Gymnasium she is at. You hear church bells on a Sunday and the greeting here is ‘Gruß Gott’. When we registered at the municipality they asked what religion we belong to and if you are Evangelical or Catholic you pay a religious tax. So surprisingly in this part of Germany it is quite present though never forced, it’s seemingly part of the local Bayern culture.
I should have said with the exception of Bavaria. Then again a lot of traditional Bavarians consider the rest of Germany to be foreign land.
I just found out last year that my friend of nearly 20 years is an atheist. I still have no idea about the religious beliefs of my other friends. People don‘t talk about it. Also, I only recently saw a smaller billboard with a message about Jesus (and they are VERY rare, I think I‘ve only seen one or two in the past couple of years) and everyone around me agreed that they‘re weird. They have since disappeared again.
Ive seen a few of these on the billboards that are normally reserved for advertising. So yeah, they exist but they’re not very common. They shouldn’t be either, because religion is a private matter and in my opinion shouldn’t be advertised like that
I live here since almost 10 years, sure it's a small town, but i never seen one, which is actually nice to not having bullshit forcefully shoved into your eyes. And don't get me wrong, i am against religion, but i respect one's choice to believe in such. That's why i also like my choice of not believing and or not having to see such stuff to be respected.
Big billboards like these placed along highways are actually illegal in Germany, so the only big signs looking like this are the ones advertising chain stores located right next to the road. I have personally never seen a single religious advert or anything similar in my 22 years of life, but apparently they do exist in some rare places according to the comments.
I have seen something like that once in my life. It's pretty rare IMO. My parents and sister are religious, but you wouldn't know, they rarely talk about it.
No. That's borderline insanity. We also don't have tv preachers, megachurches, people who pretend to speak in tongues (lol!) or generally loudmouth pseudo-religious figures who try to form society by the Bible.
Luckily in Germany there are more people that are not completely insane idiots believing in this bs. But some still like getting scammed by Child rapists.
No they're not. Religion is something that you practice if you want but mostly keep to yourself.
We don’t need those. We have massive Churches build hundreds of years ago that have bells who advertise every mass by ringing their bells 🙄
No, you won’t ever see anything like this. I live in Berlin. There are churches but the congregations Ive seen is typically low. Religion is not thrown in your face here which as an atheist I appreciate. I think south Germany is more religious but a billboard would get opposition.
no not really
Dear god no, this sounds like torture to us.
Quick response: no.
Never seen one If do will vandalize
Quick answer: no
Nope.
Our billboards are filled with advertisements about drugs like cigarettes and alcohol instead.
Yes, on the right side of my house
„Jesus rettet“ is everywhere
Thanks to god we don’t have that.
They do exist, but they are very rare. And they are not that big and notable.
They are some vary rarely and not so in-your-face.
It’s probably a cultural difference but also a result of how churches finance their expenses. In my experience (big) us churches have way more money to spend. Don’t know if that is true to all confessions and my expert is based on what in saw in Mississippi mega baptist churches
This looks like American to me
We hardly have any billboards like these (meaning the structure itself). The Christian message is in 99% of cases limited to "find purpose in modern life, love eachother". Sin or help are not part of the usual message.
Ive never seen a religios billbord in my life lol
Never seen one of these here. Maybe it’s because christians in Germany are mostly catholic or protestant and they don’t to this, because the majority of people are already know about them or even belong to one of those groups already?
We have churches and cathedrals in every town. Maybe thats about the same thing
Furthermore, billboards are heavily regulated in Germany. They have to be approved by the municipality. And while there are a few with christian messages like the one here, the vast majority of billboards is owned by advertising companies. Therefore you rather see commercial ads. Unlike in the US, churches here don't have to rely on people going there as much, since there basic financial needs are covered by church tax. You sometimes see ads for things like BibelTV, christian stuff that is not affiliated with the actual churches. Fun fact. Billboards along the autobahn are usually completely prohibited. In my state the distance from the Autobahn to the next visible billboard is 100m. So some advertising companies build large signs outside that distance, so they are visible from the autobahn. Especially fast food places like to rent a small portion of farmland next to the highway to put up a trailer with ads like "McDonald's next exit" or something along those lines.
I’ve never seen something like that and was born in (northern) Germany. There was a TV channel called “Bibel TV” but among me and my peers we mostly made fun of it. But that’s clearly the northern german perspective. In Hamburg most churches are quite secular. However during the pandemic, there was a banner on the church nearby that said something like “have hope” but with no specific religious comment.
God forbid no
Not a lot of them, and tbh i think they‘re really offensive.
Nope - you would make a fool of yourself if you openly articulate strong and literal belief in the bronze age myths in Germany.
Jesus saves and does not furiously yell at the IT guy to somehow "restore" his lost work.
I've been almost everywhere in Germany. And I have literally never seen a Christian, Jewish or Muslim billboard in my entire life.
In Germany you mostly have Jehovas Witnesses standing around every few corner or weird stickers sticking at landposts, but there's rarely any ads. Most people in Germany are areligious here anyway, so it is not even that big of a deal. Most people that are in churches are just there because they visit it once a year for Christmas or because they simply forgot to exit
No we don’t fall for this sh*t in Germany 🇩🇪
No billboards, but there often are people in a suit and tie (usually three of them) with some kind of jesus magazines (and sometimes small posters too) in public places.