Nearly 1,000 churches have been shut down.
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!”
somehistory says
This is no surprise for those who read what Jesus said, and believe His words.
Before returning to heaven to await the time to return in a flaming fire, He asked, “When the Son of Man arrives, will He really find the faith (faith in Him and His Father) on the earth”?
He said that “few are the ones finding” the road to Life.
Kepha says
Not a surprise. Back in the 19th century, the Protestant institutions in Germany gave the world the “higher criticism” of the Bible, doing much to undermine the faith they were supposedly sworn to protect and propagate. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels both wrote that philosophic criticism in the Germany of their era meant criticism of Christianity. Rather than answer the critics or defend the faith, the German Protestant churches rolled over and played “me, too!” Thus,19th century Germany became the land of jackboot nationalism on one side and socialism on the other. Today, ministers of both the mainline German Protestant churches and the RC church attack their colleages who speak against LGBTQRSTUVWXYZ or the Islamicization of the country, or who call for a return to orthodoy.
I pray for the re-Christianization of Europe–starting with the re-Christianization of the churches!
Ginny says
Amen!!!
Hank says
+100
࿗Infidel࿘ says
By itself, I don’t think that 47% having no religious affiliation is an issue, if they are agnostics or even atheists. But what are issues are
⮞ Majority of school-going kids in Germany being muslim
⮞ A good percentage of that 47% being the “Wir schaffen das” types
I am surprised, though, that Catholics outnumber Protestant in a country, the bulk of which was Prussia
somehistory says
Infidel, I think some of the ones having no “affiliation” are like me. I am not “affiliated.”
And the fact of a greater number of Catholics vs Protestants was a surprise to me, also.
Andra says
No, there were always more catholics than protestants in Germany. Rheinland, Münsterland, upper Bavaria have always been Catholic. And Erzgebirge, I think. East Germany has lost its believe in nearly 60 years of socialism.
But the numbers doch not show the complete truth. They Oblast count those christians, who are church-tax-payers. Me, for example, I did not want my church taxes been used for the islamization of Germany. The only way to prevent that is to leave the official church. So I left the church, but I did not leave my believe.
Ginny says
Yes. My husband and I left the state church too and attended a Bible preaching Lutheran separatist church in Hannover. We never left the Faith. A true Church was hard to find. I’ve since left Germany. The handwriting is on the wall.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Andra, I knew about Bavaria being Catholic. But otoh, I thought that Lutheran beliefs had returned to East Germany after reunification, at least by now
Andra says
Infidel
I am from the West. But most East Germans I meet are rather proud of not being religious at all.
In general Christian believe in Germany ist far more secular than in the States. And the Christian leaders of both Catholics and Protestants are woke and in parts even blasphemic.
Detlef says
Not mention here is the Christians are giving the churches for free to Muslims, so Muslim can save millions of euros, and we can dump our churches on these Muslim.
Better to burn all the churches than to give them!
Only free should be ticket back to Syria!
Fuck Gaza!
rick says
Surely, this comment
““Among Germans aged 18 to 29, trust in Islam rises to 17 percent”
must be a mistake. Trust in Islam? Like poisonous vipers are the new friendly pet!
How many Christmas Markets have to see a Muslim driven vehicle plow into the crowd to realize “trust” is entirely out of line.
Andra says
Most of these 17 percent are born Muslims.
Cynthia says
This is foreboding and frightening. The barbarians are inside the gate.
Game over!
somehistory says
And in Rome
“How Rome church fundraiser ‘made a bundle of cash for Hamas terrorists'”
“Nestled in a piazza off Via del Corso, the San Lorenzo in Lucina church has stood for centuries as one of the oldest and most beautiful churches in Rome.
Now, the historic basilica is implicated in a criminal plot to fund terrorists more than a thousand miles away.
In 2024, the church – the resting place of the French artist Nicolas Poussin – hosted a fundraising event in support of Gaza.
Innocent donors believed the money raised at the “Peace Convoy for Gaza” would help those suffering in the enclave during its war with Israel.
In reality, their donations ended up in the hands of killers, terrorists and the families of suicide bombers as part of an elaborate operation to use “fictitious charities” to fund Hamas from Italy, police say.
On Saturday, seven people were arrested and warrants were issued for two more as part of a network accused of raising €7m (£6.1m) in donations for the Palestinian terror group.
Police have now widened their investigation, with 25 people suspected of funnelling money to the militants.
Prosecutors say the network deliberately hid the money in aid trucks, replacing bags of flour and medical equipment with bundles of cash, which was smuggled into Gaza.
Police found cash, allegedly intended for Hamas, among medical supplies destined for Gaza – Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP
The money flowed from three sham Italian charities, passing through Turkish organisations before reaching Hamas-linked entities hidden in aid packages.
Suspects also discussed making payments to Egyptian authorities in order to secure the purported aid shipments’ passage to the Strip, the Genoa prosecutor’s office said.
Related video: Italian police seize over a million euros linked to Hamas financing probe (Metro)
Italian police seize over a million euros linked to Hamas financing probe
In one recording, a suspect allegedly said that “the Egyptians allow any amount to enter” into Gaza in the form of a “charity convoy”.
Among those arrested at the weekend was Mohammad Hannoun, the president of the Palestinian Association of Italy, who was recently photographed at a rally alongside Greta Thunberg.
An associate of Mr Hannoun is alleged to have told him he had 10 vehicles ready to transport cash into Gaza, and was recorded saying: “No one wants flour any more because there is plenty of it.”
Authorities have not ruled out further arrests. One of those wanted by police is believed to be in Turkey and the other in Gaza, according to media reports.
“The suspects are accused in particular of having carried out financing operations believed to have contributed to terrorist activities,” police said in a statement.
Police claim that fundraising campaigns in cities including Rome, Genoa and Milan yielded €7m in donations.
A police search conducted in the home of a student in Lodi, south-east of Milan, found €1m in cash as well as three computers, USB sticks and a Hamas flag hidden in a cavity behind a plastered wall.
It was one of 17 searches carried out by anti-terrorism police at the weekend..
The arrests follow a two-year investigation, dubbed “Domino”, which was launched after the October 7 attacks when suspicious financial transactions were flagged and monitored in conjunction with Dutch authorities and other EU countries through Eurojust, the EU judicial agency.
“We followed the money trail,” Matteo Piantedosi, the interior minister, said in a statement on X. “The choice paid off. That’s how you fight terrorism: cutting resources and operating capacity.”
“Among those arrested, identified by investigators as members of the foreign wing of the terrorist organisation Hamas, are the leader of the Italian terrorist cell, as well as representatives and members of several branches operating in Italy.”
Police said they had uncovered a complex fundraising system carried out through Palestinian support organisations and charities largely based in Genoa with branches in Milan.
Donations were transferred from three Italian charities through Turkish associations to 19 Palestinian organisations in Gaza, Hebron, Ramallah and Bethlehem “belonging to, controlled by, or otherwise linked to Hamas”.
Italian police recorded suspects discussing how to use aid shipments to smuggle cash to the Gaza Strip, access to which is controlled by Israel.
The suspects also allegedly plotted measures to avoid detection, such as destroying their computers.
Investigators also claimed Mr Hannoun’s wife and two children were aware of where the funds were going and that his children had even transported the money themselves on some occasions.”
There is more to the article and several photos
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/how-rome-church-fundraiser-made-a-bundle-of-cash-for-hamas-terrorists/ar-AA1TemMl?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=69535571fcb64b4db004555e6ba3ca76&ei=16
Hoi Polloi says
You posted a very good explanation of the reasons I never support these efforts. Even an outside chance any of the money ends in these hands is far too great a risk.
somehistory says
If I had extra money, it would go to places and people I could have certainty of its use…Like March of Dimes and St. Jude.
Or put it directly in the hands of those who need it, but can’t legally find a way to earn it due to their circumstances.
I’d never trust any of those entities listed above…or the *religious* charities.
gravenimage says
Disgusting, Somehistory.
steven says
The church tax explains a lot of this modern trend – little known unless you’ve lived there – is Germany has a government collected tax based on religious affiliation.
The rate ~10% income and is collected at time you pay your personal income taxes. It is distributed to your choice of institution by the gov. based on your declaration of faith when register for residence, housing, apartment addresses, gov applications, etc,
The idea is it goes to the institution you would go to; Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, Jewish, etc.
Declaring Agnostic means extra money in your pocket. Much needed as other pressures undercut families bottom line.
This tax applies to Judeo-Christian faiths. Guess which religion you can declare but does not get taxed by this system..
It is possible to opt out of the tax by either declaring yourself Agnostic on all your official paper work from day one, or changing your status to Agnostic but it needs to be done in person at official gov registrars office.
What that means socially is no church weddings, baptisms, godparents ceremonies, for you. Those rites being reserved for paying members effectively.
In this way the ratio of the Protestant to Catholics can also be understood due to stronger social pressure for such ceremonies amongst Catholics. One might say the Protestant’s are living up to their name by opting out once more of a state run tax collection scheme.
There is certainly a general decline, just providing this perspective. Few other EU countries have a Church Tax but it is typically an Allocation basis and much lower rates ~1%. Meaning your federal tax basically is X and you can divert a maximum of 1% to the church. In such cases like Italy, Spain, Portugal you can see higher percentages of Judeo-Christianity, still present.
A future battle to watch for will be the addition of newer “religions” , guess which one will lead the charge, to the countries with Allocation basis systems … while of course at same time keeping their Exclusion basis from compulsory countries like Germany and parts of Switzerland that affiliate closer to Germany, which are the only two European countries with such high rates of 10%.
gravenimage says
Thanks for that additional background, Steven.
Hank says
+10
The system was most likely made before the Muslim cult was deliberately imported by the millions.
Eddie says
Whether Atheist, Agnostic or nothing at all so many people say that they are not religious and thus none of this bothers them.
What many folk in the UK, Europe and the Western world do not realise is that religion IS coming to them whether they wish it or not.
Islam.
Submit and convert, pay to be allowed to live or die.
You cannot just opt out.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Yeah, even agnostic people have to have a real problem w/ islamization
somehistory says
A religious cartoon from decades ago: Two men are walking after it’s all over and one says to the other, “Look at that skeleton sitting on the fence.”
Everyone who values, at the very least his own life, should care about what muzzies are doing.
gravenimage says
Yes–*all* Infidels are persecuted by Islam.
OLD GUY says
These countries with high numbers of islamic migrants are in for a vary ugly time with lots of deaths.
gravenimage says
Christians Become a Minority in Germany
…………………………………………
Chilling.