Society: Number of people leaving the church remains high

The number of people leaving the church in Germany remained high in 2023. However, the spectacular negative record among Catholics in 2022 will probably not be exceeded, as a survey by the German Press Agency among cities and municipalities suggests. As a result, tens of thousands of people turned their backs on the church in the year that is now coming to an end.

In the Bavarian capital Munich, 19,081 left religious communities by December 15 of this year, as the city’s statistical office announced upon request. In 2022 there were significantly more at just over 26,000 in the same period.

In the Bavarian capital Munich, 19,081 left religious communities by December 15, as the city’s statistical office announced upon request. In 2022 there were significantly more at just over 26,000 in the same period.

In Berlin the number fell slightly compared to the same period last year, but remained at a high level in 2023. By the end of September, 16,708 people had left the church, a spokeswoman for the Berlin civil courts said. In the same period last year there were 18,018 people leaving the church, around 1,300 more. According to statistics, 9,699 Protestant and 6,876 Catholic Christians left their parish.

In Frankfurt am Main, 7,201 people leaving the church were declared, around 2,000 fewer than in 2022 (9,155).

Decline at a continued high level

A similar development can be seen in other parts of Germany: the decline in membership is continuing in the southwest, as a survey of cities in Baden-Württemberg shows. Since the beginning of the year, fewer people have apparently left the Catholic and Protestant churches than in previous years.

Even in Freiburg – a region particularly heavily influenced by the affair surrounding former Archbishop Robert Zollitsch – the number of resignations fell. By mid-December 2022 there were 3,698 people, and a year later 3,149 people. In April, an expert report on sexual abuse by clergy accused Zollitsch of not reporting cases to Rome earlier.

According to the Freiburg theologian and canon lawyer Georg Bier, the decline at a still high level could have something to do with the Catholic Church’s already heavy losses in recent years. “Anyone who leaves the church out of disappointment with current developments has had enough reason to do so in the past and has long since taken this step,” he told the dpa. Now the proportion of those leaving the church who have had a biographical change, such as moving out of their parents’ home or entering professional life, is increasing again.

Negative record in 2022

In North Rhine-Westphalia, a sample survey at some local courts revealed a continued high number of resignations. In terms of trend, the numbers there are also slightly below the record from 2022.

In the state capital Düsseldorf, 5,172 Catholics and 3,469 Protestants left the church by December 19th this year; in the entire year of 2022 there were 6,211 Catholics and 3,338 Protestants. In Cologne, the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over one million, there were 14,430 people leaving the church in the period from January to November inclusive in 2023, and 20,331 in 2022 as a whole.

The number of people who left the Catholic or Protestant Church in Mainz remained at a high level in 2023. By mid-December, 3,274 members had turned their backs on the two large churches, as the state capital announced upon request. For comparison: Mainz recorded a total of 3,878 departures in 2022 and a total of 2,556 in 2021.

The number of people leaving the church is also declining in some cases in Lower Saxony. In Hanover, by mid-December there were over 1,000 fewer than the previous year, as the state capital announced. In other cities, such as Osnabrück, more people leaving the church were reported.

In 2022, the Catholic German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) reported a spectacular negative record: 522,821 Catholics turned their backs on their church. Protestants reported a total of 380,000 people leaving the church nationwide in 2022.

Reports on cases of abuse

That year – especially in Bavaria – the report on cases of abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, which made headlines around the world, also contributed to the exploding number of resignations. The numbers shot up, especially at the beginning of the year, when the report was presented.

“On the one hand, nothing significant has changed that should significantly break the exit dynamic,” said religious educator Ulrich Riegel. “On the other hand, nothing significant has happened – such as a new report concerning a prominent bishop – that should push the wave up significantly.”

For example, it is difficult to say whether the discussion about the resigned council chairwoman of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Annette Kurschus, will be reflected in the figures. “I myself am expecting high values ​​again,” emphasized Riegel. “It doesn’t really matter whether a record comes out of it.”