17 Sept 2025
The additional study course “Interdenominational Canon Law” gets students across different faculties in shape to field practical questions around interdenominational relationships.
A hospital owned] by the Protestant and Catholic Churches, religious education for children of both the major Christian denominations, couples marrying in church despite being of different faiths: The way denominations interrelate often raises legal issues of very practical significance.
“Churches have a credo, a profession of faith. But they also have a legal system with a lengthy history,” explains Burkhard Berkmann, Professor of Canon Law at LMU. “The more they work together under an ecumenical umbrella, the more important it is for each side to know the other’s law.”
“The more churches work together under an ecumenical umbrella, the more important it is for each side to know the other’s law,” says Burkhard Berkmann. | © Foto Sexauer
Ecumenism is making genuine progress. Mutual recognition of baptisms administered by other churches was anchored in the Magdeburger Erklärung (Magdeburg Declaration) as far back as 2007. In the state of Lower Saxony, Protestant and Catholic teachers provide tuition together in a subject entitled “Christian Religion”. Some foundations, hospitals and social welfare institutions also have the backing of both major churches, while church buildings are increasingly being rented out to other denominations. And in many families, people who belong to different churches and different faiths live together. These societal changes demand tolerance and openness. But they also create the need for a knowledge of church law.
“Because church membership is dwindling, the churches are pulling together. That needs a legal basis,” Berkmann says. Issues relating to ecclesiastical labor and property law can be especially tricky. Yet scholars of church law also concern themselves with topics such as matrimonial proceedings and the remarriage of Catholic and Protestant partners.
New and serious challenges are also presented by migration. Orthodox churches in Germany are growing and bring with them their own traditions and legal positions.
However, they do not yet always have the structures they need to exercise their religion. So, should the established churches integrate them? Or should they help them preserve their identity of origin? In what language should Orthodox services be conducted? Can other churches make their premises available for this purpose? And if so, on what terms?
We want to open people’s eyes to the legal perspectives of other denominations in order to gain a comparative understanding.Burkhard Berkmann, Professor of Canon Law at LMU
The new supplementary course is aimed at students from various disciplines. | © LMU/Jan Greune
Since this year’s summer semester, the “Interdenominational Church Law” certificate program has been tackling the legal theory behind such questions. Backed by LMU’s three theological departments – Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox – it targets students of theology and law but also individuals from other disciplines who are interested in the subject. People with practical experience who study at LMU are also explicitly welcome to attend this course.
In four semesters comprising a total of eight courses (24 ECTS), participants learn what distinguishes the legal systems of the different denominations. The aim is not only to acquire theoretical knowledge, but also to reinforce its practical application. Why? Because anyone working at ecclesiastical institutions increasingly has to deal with interdenominational issues.
“We want to open people’s eyes to the legal perspectives of other denominations in order to gain a comparative understanding,” Berkmann notes.
It is enriching to have people with experience of life and work contributing their thoughts about justice.Balthasar Jokisch, Student
Among the first intake is law student Balthasar Jokisch. A circular mail drew his attention to the new course. “At the time, I didn’t know very much about the topic itself – which is precisely why I saw it as a useful complement to my law studies.”
The 18-year-old finds the churches’ sophisticated legal systems fascinating: The lecture series in the summer semester – an introduction to theories of justice – proved a good fit with his interest in philosophy.
Nor does he see any disadvantage in the fact that some of the other course participants are much older. On the contrary: “It is enriching to have people with experience of life and work contributing their thoughts about justice.”
So far, the workload has been manageable: one hour a week plus one term paper. Three hours a week and a seminar block are available to choose from for the winter semester. Balthasar hopes he will also acquire further methodological skills to benefit his main legal studies in the course of the certificate program. And he can well imagine digging deeper into this topic in the future.
How can churches work together despite all their differences? How can a balance be struck between tradition and change? The questions remain challenging, and they touch on the everyday lives of many people even in today’s secular age. By no means least, the churches still number among the biggest employers and providers of social welfare services. The more the denominations work together and the more diverse the religious landscape becomes, the greater the importance taken on by shared legal frameworks – not only in the interests of peaceful coexistence.
Berkmann prophesies that “demand for this knowledge will continue to increase”. Moreover, he sees additional studies in church law as far more than merely an exercise in legal dexterity: “Theology takes on a concrete form in law.”
Interdenominational Canon Law certificate program: The closing date for registration for the winter semester 2025/26 is 30 September 2025.
Introductory workshop: Migration and church law on 24 October
Please submit your registration for this workshop by 14 October to: Sekretariat.Berkmann@kaththeol.uni-muenchen.de