Church resignations stagnate at a high level

The Catholic Church in Germany reported a spectacular negative record for 2022: half a million Catholics turned their backs on their church - more than ever before in a single year. What is the situation a year later?

The number of people leaving the church in Germany remained high in 2023. However, the spectacular negative record among Catholics in 2022 is unlikely to be surpassed, as a survey of cities and municipalities suggests. According to the survey, tens of thousands turned their backs on the church again in the year now coming to an end.

In the Bavarian capital of Munich, 19,081 left the religious communities by December 15 of this year, as the city's statistics office reported on request. In 2022, the figure was significantly higher at just over 26,000 in the same period.

In Berlin, the number fell slightly compared to the same period last year, but also remained at a high level in 2023. By the end of September, 16,708 people had left the church, according to a spokeswoman for the Berlin civil courts. In the same period last year, there had been 18,018 people leaving the church, around 1,300 more. According to the statistics, 9699 Protestant and 6876 Catholic Christians left their parish.

In Frankfurt am Main, 7201 people left the church, around 2000 fewer than in 2022 (9155).

In Cologne, the number is falling significantly

A similar trend can be seen in other parts of Germany: in the southwest, the decline in membership is continuing, as a survey of cities in Baden-Württemberg shows. Since the beginning of the year, however, slightly fewer people have apparently left the Catholic and Protestant churches there than in previous years.

Even in Freiburg - a region particularly affected by the affair surrounding Archbishop Robert Zollitsch - the number of people leaving the church fell. By mid-December 2022, the figure was 3698, one year later it was 3149. In April, Zollitsch was accused in an expert report on sexual abuse by clergy of not having reported cases to Rome earlier.

According to the Freiburg theologian and canon law expert Georg Bier, the decline at a continuing high level could have something to do with the already heavy losses suffered by the Catholic Church in recent years. "Those who leave the church out of disappointment with current developments have had plenty of reason to do so in the past and have long since taken this step," he said. Now the proportion of those leaving the church due to a biographical change, such as leaving home or entering professional life, is increasing again.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, a random survey of some local courts revealed that the number of people leaving the church remains high. In terms of the trend, the figures there are also slightly below the record set in 2022. 5172 Catholics and 3469 Protestants left the church in the state capital of Düsseldorf this year up to 19 December, compared to 6211 Catholics and 3338 Protestants in 2022 as a whole.

In Cologne, the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia with a population of just over one million, there were 14,430 people who left the church in the period from January to November 2023, compared to 20,331 in 2022 as a whole. The number of people who left the Catholic or Protestant church in Mainz also remained at a high level in 2023. By mid-December, 3274 members had left the two major churches, as the state capital reported on request. In comparison: Mainz recorded a total of 3878 resignations in 2022 and 2556 in 2021.

The number of people leaving the church in Lower Saxony is also declining in some cases. In Hanover, there were over 1000 fewer than in the previous year by mid-December, according to the state capital. In other cities, such as Osnabrück, more church resignations were reported.

"It doesn't really matter if it's a record"

In 2022, the Catholic German Bishops' Conference (DBK) reported a spectacular negative record: 522,821 Catholics left their church. Protestants reported a total of 380,000 people leaving the church nationwide in 2022.

In that year, the report on cases of abuse in the Catholic archdiocese of Munich and Freising, which made headlines around the world, probably also contributed to the exploding number of people leaving the church - especially in Bavaria. Especially at the beginning of the year, when the report was presented, the numbers skyrocketed. "On the one hand, nothing significant has changed that should significantly break the momentum of resignations," said religious educator Ulrich Riegel. "On the other hand, however, nothing significant has happened either - such as a new report concerning a prominent bishop - that should significantly push the wave upwards."

It is difficult to say, for example, whether the discussion surrounding the resignation of Annette Kurschus, Chair of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), will be reflected in the figures. "I myself expect the figures to be high again," emphasized Riegel. "It doesn't really matter whether a record comes out of it."