Survey: One in Three Catholics in Germany Thinking of Leaving Church

Catholic News Agency ^ | 3/12/21

[marshmallow]

CNA Staff, Mar 12, 2021 / 03:00 am MT (CNA).- A third of all German Catholics are considering leaving the Church, according to a new survey published on Thursday.

The representative study, unveiled March 11, was conducted by the Erfurt-based opinion research institute INSA Consulere on behalf of the Catholic weekly newspaper Die Tagespost and the Protestant news agency Idea. It confirms a previous survey’s findings that indicated similar numbers.

Of those surveyed who belong to the Catholic Church, 33% are considering leaving the church because of the ongoing scandals over the handling of clerical sex abuse cases, while 44% said that they were not going to turn their back on the Church. A further 14% of respondents indicated that they “didn’t know.” Nine percent of those involved in the survey did not specify an answer.

CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, reported that the new survey also found that one in four members of the Protestant regional churches in Germany said they might be “leaving the church soon.”

In 2019, a total of 272,771 German Catholics formally left the Church -- more than ever before. The figures for 2020 will not be published until the northern hemisphere’s summer.

The abuse crisis is not the only reason for the exodus. According to a study by the northern German diocese of Osnabrück, older Catholics in particular cite the Church’s handling of the abuse crisis as a reason for leaving, CNA Deutsch reported. Younger people, however, are more likely to deregister as Catholics to avoid paying the obligatory church tax.

In 2019, the Church in Germany received more money in church tax than ever before. According to official figures released in July 2020, the German Church received 6.76 billion euros ($7.75 billion) in 2019. This represented an increase.......

[BenLurkin]

Why not establish an alternate papacy featuring a pontiff who adheres to Catholic doctrine?

[FreedomPoster]

That’s the elephant in the room, right?

[Telepathic Intruder]

Mission accomplished. But on a brighter note, there's greater awareness of the plight of trees and global warming.

[Luircin]

We don’t take kindly to Protty thinking ‘round here.

Srsly, though, your suggestion has happened before, and the candidates have since been condemned as antipopes while Rome marches on same as before with no difference at all.

[Campion]

Do you have any actual examples in mind?

The term "antipope" usually refers to someone whose election is disputed and ultimately rejected. In only a few cases was there any issue of doctrine at dispute. The last historical antipope was Felix V, who died in 1451.

[Joe Boucher]

The Catholic Church lost its moral compass so as to keep those contributions coming in.Can’t judge abortionists or freaks cause they need money to pay off all those judgements against the priests for buggering children,

[Thunder 6]

“If an individual is registered as a Catholic in Germany, 8-9% of their income tax goes to the Church. The only way they can stop paying the tax is to make an official declaration renouncing their membership. They are no longer allowed to receive the sacraments or a Catholic burial”.

This may have something to do with it...?

[Campion]

Which is a really horrible policy, because it means the laity literally have no voice at all. Your bishop is an apostate? — no worries, he still gets a cut of your tax money every single year. I think the “Kirchensteuer” is a big reason the church in Germany is so permanently snafu-ed.