God's gender divides German government
2012-12-21 22:22
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Angela Merkel
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Berlin - A minister in Angela Merkel's government has
sparked a pre-Christmas row among Germany's ruling parties by suggesting God be
referred to with the neutral article "das" instead of the masculine
"der".
Family Minister Kristina Schroeder made the comments when
asked in an interview with German weekly Die Zeit how she explained to her
young daughter the use of the masculine form for God.
"The article is not important," she responded,
adding that it was fine to use "das" instead of the traditional
"der" when referring to God.
The remarks were immediately denounced by members of
Schroeder's own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party,
the Christian Social Union (CSU).
"This intellectualised nonsense leaves me
speechless," Christine Haderthauer, Bavarian social minister, told
top-selling daily Bild.
Stefan Mueller, a CSU official, said he was
"bewildered" by Schroeder's "inappropriate" comments.
When pressed on the matter at a government news
conference on Friday, Merkel's spokesperson Steffen Seibert backed Schroeder.
"If you believe in God, the article is not
important," he said. "If you speak to God in a different way, the
prayers are still heard."
