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Germans may trust in God – but not in the churches
Trust in the Protestant Church has fallen to a record low. People are always turning away from Pope Francis. Another religion wins among boys.
The churches are full at Christmas. But the impression is deceptive. The reputation of Christian institutions is poor. The reputation of the Protestant church fell to a record low in 2024. This is a result of the ranking of trust in institutions that Forsa has been determining for stern, RTL and ntv for almost two decades. While 42 percent of Germans trusted the Protestant Church in 2005 and even 48 percent in 2017, the figure has now fallen to 27 percent. This is a loss of one percentage point compared to the previous low of 28 percent in 2023. The Protestant Church has recently been criticized for its hesitant handling of cases of abuse.
Pope Francis is experiencing a fall
Trust in the Catholic Church is significantly lower, but has stabilized at a low level. The value has increased slightly from 10 to 11 percent compared to the previous low last year. In 2005, however, 24 percent still trusted the Catholic Church. The highest value was reached in 2017 at 29 percent. This means that the result has more than halved over time. The pope’s reputation is only slightly higher at 16 percent. However, Pope Francis has completely lost his initial advance of trust. In 2016, at least 60 percent expressed their trust in him. The abuse scandals may have played a role here too.
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The reputation of the Central Council of Jews is comparatively high at 36 percent. However, the value has decreased by five percentage points compared to 2022 - possibly a side effect of criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza. Trust in Islam remains lowest: only 6 percent trust this ideological institution. The differences are striking among 18 to 29 year olds, for whom the migration background is likely to play a larger role: They now trust Islam (16 percent) more than the Pope (13 percent) and the Catholic Church (11 percent).
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The data was collected by telephone from the market and opinion research institute Forsa for stern and RTL Deutschland between December 6th and 13th, 2024. Database: 4004 respondents. Statistical error tolerance: +/- 1.5 percentage points. The survey is therefore representative.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
