German Family Minister Slammed for Suggesting God Has No Gender

Conservative politicians in Germany are outraged after one of their own, Family Minister Kristina Schröder, suggested that God might not have a gender. Critics argue she has gone one step too far in her political correctness.

Just in time for Christmas, Germany’s conservative Family Minister Kristina Schröder has sparked a contentious debate about the word most central to the Christian faith: God.

In an interview with the weekly newspaper Die Zeit in which she discussed gender roles in children’s literature, Schröder also took on God’s gender, and fellow members of her Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, are not impressed.

The German language has three definite articles for nouns to indicate their gender — der (masculine), die (feminine) and das (neuter). The noun der Gott, or God, is masculine. But Schröder told Die Zeit that the article for God shouldn’t matter. It could just as easily be the gender-neutral das Gott, she said, saying the article “doesn’t mean anything.”

Such a suggestion is an outrage, her colleagues say.

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Church of England Won’t Allow Female Bishops

The Church of England’s governing body on Tuesday narrowly blocked a move to permit women to serve as bishops, leaving the church facing more years of contentious debate.

Following a daylong debate, opponents mustered enough support to deny the necessary two-thirds majority among lay members of the General Synod, with backers falling six votes short of passage.

Many speakers expressed regret that they were unable to agree on a way forward.

“Whatever the outcome, there is no victory in the coming days,” said Rev. Angus MacLeay, summing up for the opposition. “It is a train crash.”

Reverend Sally Hitchiner stands outside Church House during a lunch break on November 20, 2012 in London, England. / PHOTO BY PETER MACDIARMID/GETTY IMAGES

The defeat was a setback for Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who retires at the end of December, and his successor, Bishop Justin Welby. Both had strongly endorsed a proposed compromise that they had hoped would end decades of debate on the issue in the church which has around 80 million members worldwide.

Rev. Rachel Weir, leader of Women and the Church, said the group was “absolutely devastated.”

“Not just devastated on behalf of clergy women — obviously this will be an enormous blow to clergy women, it’s awful for their morale — but it’s a disaster for the Church of England.”

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