Encadrement de la jeunesse et bénévolat

The Catholic and Lutheran Churches are very active in youth management outside schools in Germany. The Catholic Youth Union (Bund der katholischen Jugend, BDKJ), the Protestant Youth (Evangelische Jugend) and their member organisations as well as Muslim and Jewish organisations are involved in sport associations and other extracurriculum activities, scout and guide activities, holiday activities and so on. They also integrate the youth as well as children into their religious communities as choir singers or servants or by preparing them to rites of passage (communion, confirmation, bar/bat mitzvah).
Christian organisations also offer a great number of places for young conscientious objectors completing their substitution service in one of their institutions as well as places for the youth working for one year as voluntary social workers in Germany or abroad (voluntary social year/Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr, FSJ ; Time Missionar/Missionar auf Zeit, MAZ).