The new church and religion representative of the FDP parliamentary group, Dr. Stefan Ruppert, has in the this site interview demands – also from his own party – to abolish the church tax, clearly rejected. Ruppert: "I am a supporter of the church tax, also in the existing form and insofar there will be no initiatives in this legislative period to change that."
this site: It was not always the case that the Free Democrats looked positively on religious communities in Germany. There were times when FDP party platforms even called for the abolition of religious instruction in schools. That is different now?
Ruppert: Yes, that was a long time ago. Those were our wild 70s, so to speak. In the meantime, our relationship has become much more positive, and of course I'm happy about the process, even as a committed Christian.