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", Reuters reports from Berlin.
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).
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."
Voice of Russia, Reuters
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