The Church Republic of Germany

Christian Lobbying 
An Approach

This research shows how the churches in Germany systematically exert influence on politics. It reveals that Catholic and Protestant bodies are involved in legislative processes to an extent unmatched by any other civil society organisation. The book examines – for the first time in Germany – the work of church offices and their contacts within the ministerial bureaucracy. 300 pages, 2015.

God’s Work and our Contribution

Church Funding in Austria

Co-authored with Christoph Baumann.
“This research is the first compendium to systematically address church funding in Austria. The two authors, recognised specialists in the field, have compiled and consolidated information. The result is a work that has never before existed in Austria – a veritable treasure trove of information and insight.” 283 pages, 2012.

Caritas and Diakonia in Germany

With a foreword by Johannes Neumann.
Facts and figures on the two ‘unknown giants’ of Christian social organisations. Featuring 160 tables covering all areas of activity, and the overall finding that the two churches fund only 2 per cent of Caritas and Diakonie’s operations. 369 pages, 2012.

Violet Book: Church Finances

How the State Funds the Churches

This is an update of the data on ‘Church and Money’, focusing on state subsidies to the churches and their institutions: schools, faculties, childcare centres, state subsidies, religious education, heritage conservation, etc. These subsidies far exceed the revenue from church taxes. 270 pages, 2010.

The Stolen Seal

A historical crime novel set in the Hanseatic era

1622: The Swedish state seal has been stolen in Hamburg. “Carsten Frerk is a master at keeping us on the edge of our seats with a gripping plot, whilst at the same time painting a vivid picture of a historical era.” (Convent Verlag). The *Lübecker Nachrichten* purchased the rights to publish it as a serialised novel. 235 pages, 2006.

The finances and assets of the churches in Germany

The first and, to date, only comprehensive study of the two major churches in Germany: their finances and assets. It covers all ‘sectors’ of church activity… ‘from the cradle to the grave’. With 170 tables and overviews, including those on total assets. 430 pages, 2002.

The Privateer’s Son

Hamburg Anno 1591. A novel.

"As readers, we are kept on the edge of our seats by a gripping plot, yet this novel is more than just a historical crime thriller! We are able to immerse ourselves in the lives of the people who lived in the Hanseatic city 400 years ago, and we learn a great deal about the intellectual, religious and social trends, as well as everyday life, during that period.” 238 pages, 2000.

Be embraced, millions!

The churches and our money

On assets, subsidies, property – and other dubious holdings’, in: Helmut Ortner (ed.): Exit – Why We Need Less Religion. 21 pages, 2019.

Empty churches - Full coffers.

Where state and church are closely intertwined financially and institutionally, a billion-franc business emerges’, in: Schweizer Monat. 5 pages, 2019.

Islamic Relief

A Muslim aid organisation operating worldwide. Critics point out that it belongs to the ‘family’ of the Muslim Brotherhood and warn of the consequences. An investigation into the structure, scale and activities of the aid organisation. 42 pages, 2021.

Islamic lobbying

Islamic lobbying is the result of research (carried out in spring 2020) describing the history of the organisation INSSAN e.V. (Berlin), which has links to the Muslim Brotherhood: its foundation, turbulent early years and initial networking / Legal enablers / Religious backing / Consolidation and academic support / What am I? And if so, how many? /... 64 pages, 2020.

Who is a church member?

Baptism – First Communion – Confirmation

Empirical data on baptisms and confirmations are compared, with the result that the majority of those baptised do not go on to be confirmed. In doing so, they do not confirm their baptism, which, under canon law, means that they are not members of the Church. 13 pages, 2017.

Men²

Short stories about, with and amongst men.

‘Men Squared’ contains 45 short stories, neatly divided into groups: the peaceful man, the warlike man, the libidinous man, the everyday man, the sporty man, the well-organised man, the Christian man, the historical man, the criminal man, and whatever other kinds of men there are. 465 pages, 1985-2020.

Blue Flower Red

A ‘real novel’ describing the events of the years 1967–1969. The setting is Freiburg / Breisgau – as a peripheral, provincial town – representing all universities in Germany that are not called Berlin or Frankfurt. It was the time when much / everything began that later led to K-groups / employment bans / terrorism …. It was very different. 269 pages, 1998.

Along the ‘Siegfried Line’ 

A personal travelogue

‘We are hanging our washes on the Siegfried Line’: an English soldiers’ song. The Siegfried Line – the route of the retreat lines laid down by the German General Staff in 1914. My paternal grandfather, a soldier in 1914, was killed in action in the second month of the war, and now, eighty years on, his grandson visits the battlefields. 7 pages, 1995.

Michel e.V. 

A real-life satire

The ‘club-goer’ is said to be the typical German – but who claimed that? We look around, wondering where he is: the typical German. It’s not me, it’s not him, nor him either … or is it supposed to be a phenomenon that occurs predominantly amongst German men? Not at all. But chiefly so. 6 pages, 2002.

Stages in our lives,

in photos, with texts… , 2002–2026 

A personal look back at two and a half decades and the events and activities in the secular part of Germany in which Evelin Frerk and I were involved in various ways. 146 pages, 2026.