According to preliminary data published last Thursday by the German Bishops’ Conference, 321,611 people officially left the Catholic Church in 2024.
Newsroom (29/03/2025 Gaudium Press) The Catholic Church in Germany is facing a critical situation as its membership continues to drop dramatically. In 2024, over 321,000 individuals officially left the Church, while fewer people joined or returned. This has caused the number of Catholics in the country to fall below 20 million for the first time this century.
Dramatic Decline in Catholic Membership
According to preliminary data from the German Bishops’ Conference, 321,611 people officially left the Catholic Church in 2024. In stark contrast, the number of new members was only 1,839, with 4,743 individuals returning to the faith. In just ten years, the Church has lost around four million members, marking a significant shift in religious affiliation in Germany.
Currently, there are only 19.77 million Catholics in Germany, making up just 27.3% of the population. The attendance at Sunday Mass is even more concerning, with only 6.6% of Catholics regularly attending.
Regional Differences in Catholic Attendance
The decline in Catholic participation varies greatly across Germany. Eastern regions such as Saxony (12.2%) and Görlitz (14.4%) report the highest Mass attendance rates, while areas like Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate report as low as 4-5%. This reflects broader regional disparities in religious devotion.
Decline in Catholic Sacraments
The number of Catholic sacraments celebrated in Germany has also significantly dropped. In 2024, there were 116,222 baptisms, 152,280 First Communions, and 105,041 confirmations. Catholic weddings saw a particularly sharp decline, falling by almost 50% over the past decade.
Religious Conversions and Protestant Influence
Notably, most of the new Catholic members (over 1,600) came from Protestant backgrounds. This trend suggests that while the overall loss of members is high, there remains an interest in Catholicism among certain Protestant groups. This shift may also be due to the diminishing theological differences between Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany.
The German Bishops’ Conference will further analyze these trends during their next General Assembly. The Catholic Church in Germany must address this crisis and find ways to reconnect with the faithful in an era of secularization and declining religious practice.
Compiled by Donna Smolders
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