Germany: More Than Half a Million People Depart From the Church in 2022

More than half a million people left the Catholic Church in Germany in 2022: the exact number stands at 522,821. This figure far exceeds the previous record of 359,338 which dates from 2021.

At the end of 2022, the number of German Catholics stood at 20,973,590 faithful. With deaths, entries and readmissions, the loss amounts to 708,285. The overall loss last year was 550,000. The number of new devotees remained constant: 1,447 (compared to 1,465 in 2021), and the number of readmissions decreased slightly, from 4,116 to 3,753.

In absolute terms, the majority of departures took place in the Archdiocese of Cologne: 51,345 (compared to 40,772 in 2021), followed by Munich and Freising (49,029, compared to 35,323) and Freiburg (41,802, compared to 30,043 ). The ranking was the same as last year.

At the other extreme, the diocese of Görlitz recorded only 422 resignations (against 254). In percentage terms, the dioceses with the fewest departures are Görlitz (1.42%), Erfurt (1.72%), Paderborn (1.91%), Magdeburg (1.95%), and Aix-la-Chapelle (1.95%).

The highest percentage exits were recorded in Hamburg (3.74%), Berlin (3.38%), Munich and Freising (3.14%), Cologne (2.84%), and Dresden-Meissen (2.76%).

In 2022, figures for religious practice have increased slightly. Only the number of confirmations has decreased. The number of marriages increased significantly, from just over 20,000 to over 35,000. The practice also increased: from 4.3% to 5.7% of Catholics. But marriages and religious practice remain lower than in 2020 (38,500 and 5.9%).

It is obvious that the German Synodal Path, which poses a threat of schism by proposing changes of doctrine and discipline, has not managed to slow down church departures.

Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the DBK, presented the figures for his diocese of Limburg, indicating that he had been working on sustainability for a long time. He said: “We don't just write texts. It is about changing structures so that a new culture can develop that promotes transparency, allows participation and prevents any kind of abuse.”  

It always remains true that there none so blind as those who will not see. Bishop Bätzing is on the way to becoming the gravedigger of his diocese and the German Church, wanting against all odds a reform that is incapable of saving the situation, and which, on the contrary, only makes it worse.

The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) presented its statistics in March. Here too, the number of people who left has increased significantly and amounts to 380,000 people, i.e. 100,000 departures and therefore 35.7% more than in 2021. This represents a drop of 2.9% compared to compared to the previous year.

The membership trend is “depressing,” especially for all those who participate in the Protestant Church full-time and on a voluntary basis, EKD Council President Annette Kurschus said in an initial reaction.