For the first time more non-denominationals than church members in Germany

The two major Christian churches in Germany are rapidly losing members. According to a research group, there are now for the first time more people without religious affiliation than Catholics and Protestants.

For the first time in Germany there are more non-denominationals than Catholics and Protestants. In 1990, for example, the proportion of nondenominationals was only 22 percent. Nevertheless, the majority of the population still belongs to a religion at least statistically.

The churches continue to lose dramatically to members. According to a study, 38 million people have the Catholic or Protestant denomination. 39 million do not belong to any religion.

German believers are on the verge of extinction, 47% of them are atheists. The education system emphasizes science, reasoning and critical thinking. The Catholic Church has lost trust following scandals. The trend towards secularization is common in countries such as Italy, France and the Netherlands. 6 of the popes have been German, the 3rd country in number after Italy and France. Over 500,000 people left the German Catholic Church in 2022. Go…

Historic drop in priestly ordinations in Germany by 2025 (these are the 4 exceptions) - ZENIT

(ZENIT News / Cologne, 04.03.2025).- The Catholic Church in Germany has reached an unprecedented milestone—one it would rather not celebrate. In 2024, only 29 new priests were ordained across the country’s 27 dioceses, the lowest number ever recorded. This figure, released in late March by the German Bishops’ Conference, is the latest indicator of a religious landscape undergoing profound change. But the shortage of new priests is only part of t…

It is a historical turning point: for the first time in the history of Germany, denomination-free people represent a larger proportion of the population than Catholics and Protestants combined. This is shown by the data published today by the "Research Group Weltanschauungen in Deutschland" (fowid) on its website.