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Catholics in the Public Sector (1907)

Many disparities grew out of the confessional divide between Catholics and Protestants. The paucity of Catholics in the higher ranks of the military had much to do with the limitations set by the Protestant establishment in Prussia. Conversely, the high number of Catholics entering into Church service strengthened what many historians have called the “re-confessionalization” of German society. These 1907 statistics suggests that Catholics were more likely to create their own institutions than to cooperate with Protestants in inter-confessional institutions.

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Military, court, civic, and church service, also the so-called liberal professions

Overall numbers
%
Professions
Protestants
Catholics
Israelites
Others
Protestants
Catholics
Israelites
Others
1.Officers, Military
doctors,
officals of
equal rank

27,455

5,478
16
118

83.2
(+21.1)

16.5
(-20.0)

0.04
(-0.88)

0.36
(-0.02)
Non-commissioned
officers and
common
administrative
personnel of
equal rank

417,813

197,471

2,009

834


67.6
(+5.5)


32.0
(-4.5)


0.34
(-0.58)


0.13
(-0.25)
total
445,268

202,949

2,205

952

68.4
(+6.3)
31.3
(-5.2)
0.31
(-0.61)
0.14
(-0.24)
2. Higher Reich and
state officials
8,957
3,264
244
123

71.5
(+9.4)

25.9
(-10.5)

1.94
(+1.02)

0.98
(+0.60)
Judges,
Prosecutors
15,020
5,143
906
62

71.2
(+9.1)

24.4
(-12.1)

4.28
(+3.36)

0.29
(-0.09)
Lawyers,
Notaries,
Patent Attorneys

7,352

3,464
1,877
105


57.5
(-4.6)


27.1
(-9.4)

14.6
(+13.6)

0.82
(+0.44)
Higher court
officals of every kind
535
194
-
10

72.4
(+10.3)

26.3
(-10.2)

-
-

1.35
(+0.97)
Higher municipal officials
5,424
1,819
42
19

74.3
(+12.2)

24.9
(-11.6)

0.57
(-0.35)

0.26
(-0.12)
Higher officals of
estate
[standesherrlich]
or seigneurial administration
223
247
4
4

46.7
(-15.4)

51.9
(+15.4)

0.84
(-0.08)

0.84
(+0.4)
Reich and state
officials of mid-
level rank,
including the
administration of
justice

122,518

44,066

589

406


73.3
(+11.2)


26.3
(-10.2)


0.35
(-0.57)


0.24
(-0.14)
Mid-level court
officials
1,235
630
4
3

66.1
(+4.0)

33.7
(-2.8)

0.21
(-0.71)

0.16
(-.022)
Mid-level municipal
officials
60,652
24,859
131
258

70.5
(+8.4)

29.0
(-7.5)

0.15
(-0.77)

0.30
(-0.08)
Mid-level officials
of estate and
seigneurial
administration


1,232

755

2

7


61.7
(-0.4)


37.8
(+1.3)


0.10
(-0.82)


0.35
(-0.03)
Lower Reich and
state officials
20,769
7,213
49
80

73.8
(+11.7)

25.6
(-10.9)

0.17
(-0.75)

0.28
(-0.10)
Lower court
officials
3,698
1,278
-
13

74.3
(+12.2)

25.6
(-10.9)
-

0.26
(-0.12)
Lower municipal
officials
28,493
14,089
55
169

66.4
(+4.3)

32.8
(-3.7)

0.13
(-0.79)

0.39
(+0.01)
Lower estate and
seigneurial
officials
1,004
706
1
3

58.5
(-3.6)

41.3
(+4.8)

0.05
(-0.87)

0.17
(-0.21)
total
277,112
107,727
3,904
1,262

71.1
(+9.0)

27.4
(-9.1)

1.00
(+0.08)

0.32
(-0.06)
3. Church, church
service, missionary
work, also
personnel in
institutions with a
religious purpose
a
22,822
22,854
841
845

48.3
(-13.8)

48.5
(+12.0)

1.77
(+0.85)

1.79
(+1.41)
b
2,880
18,508
49
15

13.4
(-48.7)

86.5
(+50.0)

0.23
(-0.69)

0.07
(-0.31)
c

4,627

6,133

465

151

40.8
(-21.3)

54.2
(+17.7)

4.11
(+3.19)

1.34
(+0.96)
total
30,329

47,495

1,355

1,011

37.9
(-24.2)
59.3
(+22.8)
1.69
(+0.77)
1.26
(+0.88)
4. Education and
teaching, libraries,
scientific and
artistic collections
a
183,648

89,251

3,235

1,019

66.3
(+4.2)
32.2
(-4.3)
1.17
(+0.25)
0.37
(-0.01)
b
2,880

1,152

64

31

70.0
(+7.9)
27.9
(-8.6)
1.55
(+0.63)
0.75
(+0.37)
c

11,163

6,851

46

56

61.6
(-0.5)
37.8
(+1.3)
0.25
(-0.67)
0.31
(-0.07)
total
197,691

97,254

3,345

1,106

66.0
(+3.9)
32.4
(-4.1)
1.12
(+0.20)
0.37
(0.01)
5. Health care and
infirmary service
a
49,695

23,489

4,719

647

63.2
(+1.1)
30.0
(-6.5)
6.00
(+5.08)
0.83
(+0.45)
b
9,328

2,644

84

67

76.8
(+14.7)
21.8
(-14.7)
0.69
(-0.23)
0.55
(+0.17)
c
48,211

39,859

417

622

54.0
(-8.1)
44.7
(+8.2)
0.47
(-0.45)
0.69
(+0.31)
d
17,569

10,195

87

84

62.6
(+0.5)
36.5
(-0.0)
0.31
(-0.61)
0.30
(-0.08)
total
124,803

76,187

5,307

1,420

60.2
(-1.9)
38.6
(+0.3)
2.56
(+1.64)
0.68
(+0.30)
6. Private scholars,
writers, journalists
5,638

1,905

712

498

64.3
(+2.2)
21.7
(-14.8)
8.14
(+7.22)
5.69
(+5.31)
7. Stenographers,
private secretaries,
accountants,
clerks, etc.
7,371

2,575

296

334

69.8
(+7.7)
24.3
(-12.2)
2.81
(+1.89)
3.16
(+2.78)
8. Music, theater,
theatrical
performances of
every kind
a
58,663

20,276

1,775

701

72.0
(+9.9)
25.2
(-11.3)
2.18
(+1.26)
0.86
(+0.48)
b
1,690

603

76

22

70.7
(+8.6)
25.2
(-11.3)
3.18
(+2.16)
0.92
(+0.54)
c
4,796

2,019

53

25

69.6
(+7.5)
29.6
(-6.9)
0.77
(-0.15)
0.36
(-0.02)
total
65,149

22,898

1,904

748

71.8
(+9.7)
25.2
(-11.3)
2.09
(+1.17)
0.82
(+0.44)
On 12 June 1907
there were in %
62.1

36.5

0.92

0.38



Source: “Die Benachteiligung der Katholiken im öffentlichen Dienst (bes. akademische Berufe) 1907 [“Discrimination against Catholics in the Public Sector (particularly in the educated professions) in 1907”], from Hans Rost, Die wirtschaftliche und kulturelle Lage der deutschen Katholiken [The Economic and Cultural Position of German Catholics]. Cologne, 1911, p. 71 f.

Translation: Thomas Dunlap

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