Germany: 630,000 fewer Catholics
Despite the continuing decline, the Roman Catholic Church continues to represent 24% of the population. The national Protestant Church also lost hundreds of thousands last year.
Pro Medien Magazin · BERLIN · 28 JUNE 2024 · 15:40 CET
The statistics released by the Roman Catholic Church in Germany show that it lost 628,000 members in the year 2023.
Over 402,000 people left the Roman Catholic Church intentionally, and the rest correspond to deaths of members.
In contrast, only 5,700 people became new members of the Church.
Perhaps even more significant is the heavy fall in baptisms of newborn (from 155,000 in 2022 to 131,000 in 2023) and of weddings (from 35,000 to 27,000).
Mainline Protestants on the same path
In May, the mainline Protestant Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD) also announced the data of 2023.
In 2023, the Protestant Church lost 593,000 members, including around 380,000 exits. The EKD now represents 21,9% of the population.
The EKD, formed by 20 regional churches does not include free evangelical Protestants and has a more liberal theological approach to many biblical doctrines.
One more year
Learn all about our #OneMoreYearEF campaign here (English).
Published in: Evangelical Focus - europe - Germany: 630,000 fewer Catholics