Religious study predicts wave of people leaving the church
"How do you feel about the church?" is the main question of the "Church Membership Survey", for which the Protestant and Catholic churches have joined forces for the first time. The answers are not encouraging for either church; on the contrary, the authors see a "tipping point" approaching.
The number of Christians in Germany will halve by 2040 at the latest due to people leaving the church. This is the diagnosis of the "Church Membership Survey" (KMU), which has been conducted by the Protestant Church in Germany every ten years since 1972 and in which the Catholic Church was also involved for the first time.
The forecast is based on a study of 5,252 respondents by the opinion research institute Forsa. This means that the halving of church membership figures will occur 20 years earlier than a 2019 study by the University of Freiburg had predicted. It was previously considered the basis for the work of many church institutions. In 2022 alone, 380,000 Protestants and 522,000 Catholics left the church. According to the authors, the survey makes a further intensification of this trend likely. The churches are facing a "tipping point" that could "lead to considerable instability and disruptive break-offs in the next few years". The SME sees a "dynamic that could possibly take place even faster in the Catholic Church".
Many Catholics have now lost their ties to the church. According to the new study, only 27 percent of Catholic church members still rule out leaving the church. Among Protestant church members, 35 percent stated that they definitely want to remain in the church. While Protestants primarily cite indifference towards religion and the church as a potential reason for leaving, "anger and rage at their own church" play a much greater role for Catholics. However, two thirds of respondents would not leave if "the church radically reformed itself." The abolition of celibacy is seen as an important point here. 95% of all formally registered Catholics and 89% of all practising ("religious") Catholics are in favor of priests being allowed to marry.
Scandals act as a booster
Overall, according to an EKD press release, the SME shows that religiosity and church loyalty are declining in society, but that the church remains important as a place of religiosity. "Anyone who is religious in Germany today is very likely to be religious in the context of the church." On the one hand, a general decline in trust in institutions of all kinds is cited as a reason for the declining binding power of churches, but on the other hand, declining religiosity. Other factors, such as specific church scandals, are of secondary importance and at best have a reinforcing effect.
The gender differences that once existed in terms of religiosity and church commitment have now almost completely disappeared. Overall, religiosity in Germany is declining from generation to generation. According to the survey, socially disadvantaged people in particular are increasingly losing their connection to the church.
The survey, conducted by the Protestant Church in Germany in collaboration with the Catholic Church, suggests a significant decrease in church membership for both religions, with a potential "tipping point" approaching. This trend is more pronounced in the Catholic Church, as indicated by the views of many Catholics who no longer rule out leaving.
Despite the decline in religious fervor and church loyalty in society, scandals within the church only have a secondary impact on this trend, acting more as a booster rather than a primary cause.
[Source: ntv.de]
Source: www.ntv.de
