Berlin letter
Is Germany in secularization? For the first time in 2024, the country counted more individuals without confession than Catholic and Protestant people, according to the research group Weltanschauungen in Deutschland, which is based on the publications of the Conference of German bishops and the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD). Germany thus had 47 % of atheistic people, compared to 45 % of Catholics and Protestants, and 4 % of Muslims. In 1990, only 22 % of Germans presented themselves as without confession. For comparison, people without religion in France have already been in the majority for several years, a study carried out by INSEE in 2019-2020 showed that they represented 51 % of the population.
These data confirm long -standing trends in Germany, as in the rest of Europe, partly aggravated by demographic aging. And that accelerate. In total, the two large Christian churches lost more than 1 million members across the Rhine last year. By two years, people without confession will represent more than 50 % of the German population, extrapolate experts.
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Source: Lemonde