German churches lose 1.2 million members in a year

Both the Catholic and Protestant churches in Germany continue to see declining membership. At the end of 2025 they had a combined total of about 36.6 million believers, roughly 1.2 million fewer than the previous year, according to figures reported by Bild.

Published data show that the Protestant Church had 17.4 million members, down from 18 million in 2024. The Catholic Church recorded 19.2 million believers, compared with 19.8 million a year earlier.

The figures suggest the long-term decline in church membership is continuing at a similar pace to previous years.

The Evangelical Church in Germany said its membership had fallen by 3.2 per cent, the same rate as the year before. Around 350,000 people left one of the 20 regional Protestant churches, about 5,000 more than in 2024.

About 330,000 members died, roughly 5,000 fewer than the previous year. There were around 105,000 baptisms and about 16,000 new members, which was not enough to offset the overall decline.

The Catholic Church recorded a similar trend. Around 307,000 people formally left the church, nearly 14,000 fewer than in the previous year. Statistics show about 203,000 Catholic funerals, around 109,000 baptisms, roughly 2,000 new members and about 5,000 readmissions. These numbers were again insufficient to halt the overall fall in membership.

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