German Catholic Church Faces Membership Crisis Amid Ongoing Scandals and Calls for Reform

In 2023, 402,694 people left the Catholic Church in Germany, a slight decrease from 2022 but still the second-highest ever. Scandals involving clergy abuse and reform tensions have fueled the exodus. The Protestant Church also faces similar challenges, with 380,000 departures. Church tax policies influence the decisions.

The Catholic Church in Germany is confronting a severe membership crisis. Official figures revealed that 402,694 people departed from the church in 2023, a decrease from the 522,821 exits in 2022, yet still a historically high figure.

This ongoing exodus is deeply rooted in scandals involving clergy abuse, leading to widespread calls for church reform and creating internal tensions between liberalizers and conservatives. The Synodal Path, a three-year reform initiative, highlighted this divide, culminating in a contentious final assembly last year advocating for blessings of same-sex unions.

The Protestant Church is not immune to this crisis either, with approximately 380,000 formal exits reported last year, similar to the previous year's figures, leaving its membership at 18.56 million. Both denominations wrestle with the legacy of past abuses and the financial implications of church tax departures.

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