Markus Söder sparks outcry after saying cross is a cultural rather than religious symbolThe premier of Bavaria has sparked uproar after his cabinet ordered that Christian crosses be fixed in the entrance halls of all public buildings. Markus Söder, whose conservative CSU party faces a far-right challenge in state elections in October, declared that “the cross is a fundamental symbol of our Bavarian identity and way of life”. It should be seen as a cultural rather than a religious symbol, added Söder of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party to chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Critics pointed out Germany’s constitutional separation of church and state, while some religious leaders charged Söder was playing politics with a sacred symbol. The protestant church leader Heinrich Bedford-Strohm said the cross should not be used to exclude others, and that Christian values such as helping the weak should apply to Germany’s refugee policy.

Source: The Guardian April 25, 2018 17:15 UTC