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Almost every German Chancellor was a follower of a Christian church. German society has been affected by a Catholic-Protestant divide since the Protestant Reformation, and the same effect is visible in this list of German Chancellors. It is largely dominated by Roman Catholics and Lutherans as these remain the main confessions in the country. One chancellor, namely Philipp Scheidemann, was Reformed (Calvinist). Although there were some religiously sceptic chancellors, such as Friedrich Ebert, they never officially renounced their faith and were given a Christian funeral. Hermann Müller, a Social Democrat heavily influenced by his father-an advocate of Ludwig Feuerbach's views, is the only one notable for not being a member of any confession. A significant portion of Protestant chancellors belonged to the Prussian Union of churches, which united the Reformed and Lutheran confessions throughout the Kingdom of Prussia, and was in force since 1817. Some Roman Catholic chancellors came from the Catholic Centre Party. The Christian Democratic Union, a party of both Roman Catholics and Protestants, produced both kinds of chancellors.
As some chancellors' views are uncertain or causing confusion among researchers, such as these of Adolf Hitler or Joseph Goebbels, the official religion they were brought up in is only mentioned with a further information on their worldviews, if available.
The current German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is a Lutheran Protestant within the Evangelical Church.