Christianity - Number of people leaving the church in Berlin remains high
The number of people leaving the church in Berlin has fallen slightly compared to the same period last year, but will remain 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. 133 resignations were from the Jewish community and smaller Christian churches. The churches themselves only report leaving figures once a year as part of an overall balance sheet for the previous year.
In 2022, more Berliners than ever before left the two major Christian churches. Final figures for 2023 will not be available until the new year because the courts only collect statistics on a quarterly basis. In Berlin, leaving the church does not have to be declared at registry offices, as is the case in many places, but at the local courts. Reasons for the step do not have to be given.
The Catholic archdiocese of Berlin, which includes the federal capital as well as parts of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and a few parishes in Saxony-Anhalt, recorded 10,748 resignations for the whole of 2022. 372,537 people belonged to the archdiocese at the end of 2022. In Berlin and Western Pomerania in particular, there were a particularly high number of resignations in relation to the number of Catholics.
The Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO) saw 17,171 members leave throughout the previous year, including 12,199 in Berlin and 4,667 in Brandenburg. In total, 833,254 believers belonged to the EKBO at the end of 2022. The EKBO explains the many resignations with the fact that religion and church no longer have any significance in the lives of many people. Financial motives also play a role: When people leave the church, they no longer pay church tax, which is nine percent of the income tax payable.
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The local courts in Berlin handle declarations of leaving the church, a practice not requiring registration as in other places. Despite a slight decrease in 2023, the number of individuals leaving Christianity in Berlin will still be significantly high. If you're considering leaving the Church in Brandenburg, which includes areas like Berlin and Western Pomerania, you'd be contributing to the high exit rates observed in recent years.
Source: www.stern.de
