State Secretary for Church Affairs

The State Secretary for Church Affairs (German: Staatssekretär für Kirchenfragen) was the head of the Secretariat for Church Affairs in the former German Democratic Republic. The office was responsible for the relationship of the government toward churches and religious groups. Policy was set by the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED), but direct contact with the churches and religious groups was essentially restricted to the Secretariat in order to preserve the SED's stance as atheist and anti-religion.