“Trust, especially in the Catholic Church, has fallen enormously”: Bishop Georg Bätzing. Photo: Arne Dedert/dpa
At the end of the year, the chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference draws a ruthlessly self-critical assessment of the decline of the church and religion.
Frankfurt/Main – According to the chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing, the two large churches are in a dramatic decline. “The loss of members is rapid, the social importance is dwindling,” stated the Bishop of Limburg in his New Year’s Eve sermon in Frankfurt am Main, according to the text of the speech that was distributed in advance. “Our country is becoming more secular, and the majority of the population can hardly be approached religiously.”
Bätzing was referring to the study on church membership published this year, for which more than 5,000 people were surveyed. “Only 48 percent of the population in our country belong to one of the two large churches,” Bätzing summarized. “The criticism of the church as an institution is confirmed, but at the same time the thesis that people take their religiosity out of the churches and into their private lives is refuted.” Practiced faith outside of the churches is virtually non-existent, and religious beliefs no longer have any significance for the way people live their lives.
Only four percent of Catholic and six percent of Protestant believers stated in the study that they were closely connected to their church. “Trust, especially in the Catholic Church, has fallen enormously,” admitted Bätzing. “And almost half of Catholics are thinking about leaving the church, only a third rule it out in principle. To suppress or trivialize such developments would be fatal.”
Bätzing: Overwhelming proportion for reforms
At second glance, the study also offers some encouraging results, says Bätzing. “What’s astonishing to me is that half of all members of the Catholic Church do voluntary work – significantly more than average.” The approval of confirmation and first communion remains high. A third of the population attended a church daycare center. Church child and youth work services are still being used.
The study also shows that those who are still members expect the church to work against poverty and for justice, specifically for refugees. Church members also pushed for reforms. “It’s not uncommon for me to hear critical voices say that a supposedly silent majority is skeptical about reform processes in the Catholic Church.” The survey proves the opposite: “An overwhelming proportion of 96 percent of Catholics say: ‘My church has to change fundamentally if it wants to have a future.'”
The most important topics included a positive approach to homosexuality, more participation for lay people, an abolition of compulsory celibacy for priests and stronger cooperation with the Protestant Church. “Reforms certainly do not solve all of the Catholic Church’s problems, but these become worse if reforms are not implemented,” concluded Bätzing. Withdrawal has never been promising – what the church needs is change.
2023-12-31 18:48:31
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