A study conducted by the GFS-Zurich research institute shows that the image of Swiss free evangelical churches has improved since 2016, when they carried out the first edition.

According to the study, 32% of the Swiss population had positive experiences of contact with evangelical churches, while in 2016 it was 27%.

This figure is higher in German-speaking Switzerland (35%) than in French-speaking Switzerland (24%). However, in French-speaking areas, it is not more common to have negative experiences (10%), but to have none at all (66%).

The image has especially improved among young people aged 18 to 39 (31% in 2024 vs 18% in 2016).

Positive contribution, but “less relevant”

One in five respondents (20%) said that evangelical churches make a positive contribution to “the smooth running of society”. This view has remained stable compared to the 2016 survey (19%).

In 2024, this positive perception is significantly higher in the countryside (24%) than in the cities (13%), and slightly higher in French-speaking Switzerland (22%) than in German-speaking Switzerland (19%).

At the same time, citizens with a lower level of education (24%) feel this positive contribution more than people with a high level of education (19%).

The majority of respondents in this survey (73%) consider that evangelical churches are “not relevant to society” and “retrograde”.

On the other hand, “the attribute 'committed to the community' has remained stable, albeit at a rather low level”, say the authors. Evangelical Christians are “less described as bigoted, sectarian or fundamentalist than in 2016”.

“Less moralistic”

In 2024, evangelical churches appeared to be “less moralistic” than in 2016.

When asked: “To what causes are evangelical churches particularly committed?”, the moral issues such as “against abortion” (2024: 33%; 2016: 35%), “against homosexuality” (2024; 25%; 2016: 32%) and above all “against premarital sex” (2024: 21%; 2016: 39%) were strongly emphasised.

This year, “the results are mixed”, with answers such as “against poverty and hunger in this world” (2024: 31%; 2016: 26%), “for the common good” (2024: 31%; 2016: 27%) and “for social justice" (2024: 23%; 2016: 20%) appearing mroe . The issue of abortion remains at the top of the list.

Stéphane Klopfenstein, deputy director of Swiss French-speaking Evangelical Alliance (RES), pointed out that “evangelical churches are seen as less strongly opposed to questions of morality, but there is still work to be done to make people aware of their positive commitment to society”.

Unknown to the general public

Despite all these data, there are still 38% of the German-speaking population and 55% of the French-speaking population who do not know any evangelical churches, and a great amount of people “are not always able to distinguish clearly between national churches [like the mainline Protestant Evangelical Church of Switzerland], free evangelical churches, and cults”, says the study.

“It is true that we are not very well known by the public”, admitted Christian Kuhn, director of the RES. “The media rarely talk about us”.