Around this time of the year, Germany is known as the land of Christmas markets and gothic cathedrals (not to mention the inevitable Muslim terror plots aimed at them), but in reality, churches are being closed and going up for sale all across Germany.
The number of church members in Germany is falling rapidly. In 2024 alone, the two major churches lost over a million Christians due to people leaving the church or dying. Currently, more than 45% of Germans still belong to either to the Protestant Church in Germany or the Catholic Church. Thirty years ago, that figure stood at almost 69%. This is why churches are now being deconsecrated or desacralized.
Since 2000, hundreds of Catholic and Protestant churches were decommissioned. In response to a DW inquiry, the German Bishops’ Conference informed of the closing and decommissioning of 611 Catholic churches between 2000 and 2024. The Protestant Church estimates that some 300 to 350 churches were permanently shut in the same period; more precise figures are not available.
Yes, Christians have become a minority in Germany.
The official statistics say that 24% of Germans are Catholic, 21% belong to Protestant churches, and 47% have no religious affiliation.
4% belong to ‘other’ religions and 4% are Muslim.
Don’t get too comfortable with that 4% number though because the numbers that matter are the next generation. And Muslims make up a much larger proportion of younger people. And those numbers have been selectively hyped by some Christian sites to show that a majority believe in some spiritual ideas.
Just not actual Christian doctrine.
“28 percent of Germans believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose bodily from the dead after three days.”
And Islam continues to rise…
“Among Germans aged 18 to 29, trust in Islam rises to 17 percent, surpassing confidence in the Catholic Church within the same age group, which stands at 13 percent.”
As the woman who broke Germany used to say, “Wir Schaffen Das!”
