What religion did Hitler say he was if any?

Answer 1

== == Quotes from Hitler himself are hardly trustworthy on anything at all, as he is known to have been a notorious liar. The known facts about Hitler and religion are:

1. He had a Catholic upbringing. 2. When he left home he ceased religious observance. 3. Some of his speeches (and "Mein Kampf") refer to providence, the Creator and so on.

Hitler never specifically named a preferred religion, although he used religious terms when expedient for him to do so. His experiences as a soldier in WW1 brought him to the belief that religions are mainly for the benefit of the religious leaders, such as Bishops, Cardinals, and the Pope.

Certainly some of his early actions as German Chancellor speak more about his religious position than any direct profession of faith, such as his sterilization law, the disbandment of the Catholic Youth League(Shirer, The Rise), his agreement with the Vatican to allow the Catholic Church to regulate its own affairs (it is probably worth noting here the low value that Hitler placed on written agreements), pressuring parents to take their children out of religious schools, banning state teachers from taking part in Church-organized voluntary religious classes, banning crucifixes in classrooms, encouraging SS officers and men to leave the Church and the institution of neo-pagan rituals for marriage ceremonies and baptisms in the SS. Hitler remained conscious of the affection for the Church felt in some quarters of Germany, particularly Bavaria.

Hitler's references to providence and God and the ritualistic pageantry of Nazism were more than likely pagan than Christian. Earthly symbols of German valour and Teutonic strength were to be worshipped - not the forgiving, compassionate representative of an "Eastern Mediterranean servant ethic imposed on credulous ancient Germans by force and subterfuge" (the phrase is Burleigh's own, in Michael Burleigh, The Third Reich: a New History, Pan, 2001). A Hitler Youth marching song (Grunberger, A Social History) illustrates it:

We follow not Christ, but Horst Wessel, Away with incense and Holy Water, The Church can go hang for all we care, The Swastika brings salvation on Earth.

(Horst Wessel was an early Nazi party Sturmabteilung street-fighter murdered by communists and turned into a martyr by Propaganda chief Josef Goebbels.)

The references to a mysterious power above him suggest 'rhetorical Christianity'. Many politicians used to pepper their speeches with occasional references to God - and often this is very unconvincing.

Although Hitler referred to Christ as a 'fighter', this is in line with the view of the 'German Christians' of Christ as a 'warrior' (!). This is completely out of step with Christian teachings. To cap it all, Hitler and his movement proclaimed that 'might is right'. I don't see any case for regarding him as having espoused Christian beliefs. Odd scraps of some vague belief in 'higher forces' is at best residual Christianity - or superstition.

The exact religion of Hitler, only Hitler will know. As far as his public religion is concerned: " I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator." - Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol. 1 Chapter 2. Hitler said it again at a Nazi Christmas celebration in 1926: "Christ was the greatest early fighter in the battle against the world enemy, the Jews ... The work that Christ started but could not finish, I -- Adolf Hitler -- will conclude." One thing was for certain by his own words, that Hitler always spoke of "a God", in many of his speeches and writings.