One in three Germans say they know the Ten Commandments

Free evangelicals are the Christian group who says they know the commandments in Exodus and Deuteronomy best (57%), a survey finds.

Evangelical Focus

Idea · BERLIN · 28 APRIL 2022 · 09:40 CET

A statue of Moses with the Ten Commandments. / Photo: <a target="_blank" href="https://unsplash.com/@levimeirclancy">Levi Meir Clancy</a>, Unsplash, CC0.,
A statue of Moses with the Ten Commandments. / Photo: Levi Meir Clancy, Unsplash, CC0.

Around 36% of Germans estimates they know all Ten Commandments of the Old Testament, found a survey conducted by INSA-Consulere and published by the news agency Idea.

In contrast, 39% said they did not all commandments whereas 17% responded “I don’t know”.

Among those aged 60 or older, 45% say they know the commandments given by God to Moses and found in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy.

The percentage falls among younger age groups. Among those aged 50-59: 37%; 40-49: 34%, 30-39: 27%, 18-29: 25%.

In the west of Germany, 38% said they know the Ten Commandments, in contrast with 26% in the eastern regions of the country, where more citizens identify as non-religious.

Among members of faith groups, 57% of members of free evangelical churches say they know the Ten Commandments. The figure falls to 48% in the case of mainline Protestants, and to 44% among Roman Catholics.

27% of non-religious people said they know the Biblical commandments, and 17% of the Muslims asked in the survey also said so.

The survey was conducted in April 2022 among over 2,000 respondents.

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