The Monopolization of Humanitarianism? The Role of The Church in Assisting Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Germany

Germany is one of the leading countries for accepting refugees and asylum seekers. However, despite accepting similar numbers as the United States, its policy infrastructure in this area differs greatly. Christian groups in Germany play a less formal role than in the US, primarily through a practice called church asylum. This thesis bridges theories on secularism, humanitarianism, and citizenship to examine what produced the different policy framework. While Christian groups are motivated by their faith to assist refugees and asylum seekers, a dominant conservative vision for Germany has a more limited vision for the state’s responsibility to foreigners. This vision is in-part informed by Germany’s old citizenship law, which assigned citizenship only to those with German heritage. The misalignment of these visions produced a policy framework in which Christian groups play mostly an informal role in aiding refugees and asylum seekers, and provide that aid on a smaller scale.