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Abby Catanzaro
Mr. Hawkins
Modern World History-P, Period 3
21 March 2016
What Were the Nazis Attitudes Toward God and Organized religion?
The Nazis attitudes towards god and organized religion varied depending on what website or
books are read. The Nazis were originally called The German Workers Party. They were to do
anything Adolf Hitler commanded. Some sources say that Hitler was a Christian, others say that
he was completely against any religion, and other talk about how much Hitler and the Nazis
hated every religion or religious person. All in all, the Nazis had whatever attitude Hitler had
towards God and organized religion because they followed anything he believed.
There were many different views of whether Hitler was a believer in God or religion.
According to one website, Nazi attitudes toward God and organized religion were
complicated.(Evidence#1). Although people believed that Hitler was an atheist, he was in fact
introduced to Catholicism when he was a boy by his extremely religious mother. He went to a
Catholic school his whole life and drifted away from Catholicism when he moved out. Although
there were conflicting ideas of whether he was still Catholic, he continued to identify as
a Christian and made regular financial contributions to the church.(Evidence #1).
Although he identified himself as a Christian he never attended church, and wrote a book called
Mein Kampf which had many references to a divine creator. His speeches also mentioned God
and pointed people Christianity. In an October speech Hitler said the Nazis tolerate no one in

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our ranks who attacks the ideas of Christianity In fact our movement is Christian.
(Evidence #1). Hitler wanted to appeal to the Christians and Catholics so he made those
statements. He wanted to have more and more people on his side, so he told Germany these
things. Although this site says that Hitler and the Nazis were for Christians and religions, other
sites beg to differ.
Another website says that Hitler was completely against all religion. For instance, its
states, Christianity had declined severely in Germany at the time the Nazis came to
power.(Evidence #2). The lack of Christians was a leverage for the Nazis because if there were
less people worrying about God, they can be more invested or willing to be ruled by Hitler.
Before Hitler the religious German leaders were publicly condemning the rise of moral
relativism. This site also talks about how We Germans are heathens and want no more
Jewish religion in our Germany.(Evidence #2). This shows how the Nazis were very against
religion, especially Judaism. They wanted no part in them because they were afraid that if the
Jews believed in a God, that they would trust the god more than Hitler. The Nazis also stated,
We no longer believe in the Holy Ghost; we believe in the holy Blood.(Evidence #2). What
the Nazis meant by this is that they dont want any part in religion. They believe in killing people
instead of believing in a god or having any sort of religious belief. Not only did this website say
that Hitler was against Christianity, but another site believes that he was trying to eliminate
Christianity completely.
This last source talks about how Hitler and the Nazis were so against Christianity that
they wanted to get rid of it. This site states, Hitler was a rationalist and
materialist.(Evidence #3). This means that Hitlers actions were based on reason whether it is
valid or not. He has a good reason for everything he does or commands. While he was in his

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adulthood, he became disdainful of Christianity(Evidence #3). Because of this he began to

form a plan to take down Christianity. He did this because he was afraid that Christians would
distort the views of the Nazi world. Although he was skeptical of religion, Hitler referred to
belief in a "creator".(Evidence #3). There were several times in speeches and in his book,
Mein Kampf, that he referred to a higher power. This means that he did believe in God, but he
did not believe in religion or anything that could over throw him. This was clearly not the only
way people viewed Hitler and the Nazis, this was just a brief overview.
The Nazis were supposed to do whatever Hitler commanded, so if he were to tell them to
be against religion, they would be. Hitler was raised Catholic, but began to drift away when he
moved away from home. From the research done, Hitler was very skeptical about religion but
never denied there being a god. He was worried that if people believed more in a god than him,
they would question what he was doing. All in all, Hitler and the Nazis did not hate religion, but
were doubtful about it.