Random inquiries in large cities show that in 2022 many people will have turned their backs on the church again. What does the EKM regional bishop say about the trend?
Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - In the three large cities in Saxony-Anhalt, more people left the Christian churches this year than in the previous year. In Halle, 713 declarations of withdrawal from the church were received by mid-December after 598 in the whole of the previous year, as a city spokesman said when asked. In Magdeburg, 572 people left the church, compared to 533 in 2021. And in Dessau-Roßlau, 138 people left the church, compared to 96 in the Bauhaus city the year before. People do not have to give reasons when they submit their declaration of leaving the church.
The regional bishop of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, Friedrich Kramer, said: "Nowadays those who hate the church are not allowed. It is changing. Even under the economic conditions, some people simply look into the coffers and say that the 3 "I can't afford 90 or 35 euros anymore, or I don't want to. Those are often people who don't pay that much church tax a month."
Kramer stressed that he considered it a huge mistake to leave the church. This is also unfounded for the Central German Church. "We don't have financial scandals, nor do we have sexual abuse scandals." The income and the household can be read transparently on the Internet. There are many projects with which the church is trying out new ways. "We're a really fluffy, great church where every penny is worth it," summarized Kramer.
The Church is also losing many members due to demographics. "I can't stop death. We are an aging society. The baby boomers are now slowly retiring in the next ten years. That means we will simply be a demographically shrinking church for another 20 to 30 years. That's true otherwise conceivable," said the regional bishop.
