Christianity is the largestreligion in Germany. It was introduced to the area of modernGermany by 300 AD, while parts of that area belonged to theRoman Empire, and later, whenFranks and other Germanic tribes converted to Christianity from the fifth century onwards. The area became fullyChristianized by the time ofCharlemagne in the eighth and ninth century. After theReformation started byMartin Luther in the early 16th century, many people left theCatholic Church and becameProtestant, mainlyLutheran andReformed. In the 17th and 18th centuries, German cities also became hubs of heretical and sometimes anti-religiousfreethinking, challenging the influence of religion and contributing to the spread ofsecular thinking about morality across Germany and Europe.[2]
In 2024, around 48% of the population were Christians, among them 45% members of the two large Christian churches.[1][3] Around half of Christians in Germany are Catholics, mostly from theLatin Church; Catholicism is stronger in the southern and the western part of the country. Nearly half belongs to theProtestant Church in Germany (EKD) that is stronger in the northern regions, and the rest to several small Christian denominations such as theUnion of Evangelical Free Churches in Germany, theEastern Orthodox Church or theJehovah's Witnesses.[4] Estimations for the percentage ofMuslims vary between 4.7%[1] and 6.7%,[5][6] while much smaller religions includeBuddhism,Judaism,Hinduism andYazidism.[1] The rest of the population is not affiliated with any church, and many areatheist,agnostic, or otherwiseirreligious.[4] 60% of German residents say that they believe there is aGod, 9% say that they believe there is a higher power or spiritual force and 27% say that they do not believe there is a God, higher power or spiritual force.[7] In aEurobarometer survey from 2010, 44% said that they believe there is a God, 25% said that they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force and 27% said that they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force.[8] 35% of residents identify with their religion or belief.[9]
Nearly half of Germanshave no religion. Demographics of religion in Germany vary greatly by region and age, with sharp divides that reflect both the country's history as anEnlightenment hub and its later experiences with post-warcommunism. Non-religious people typically represent the majority in Germany's major cities, includingBerlin,Hamburg,Bremen,Munich andCologne, as well as inthe eastern states which used to beEast Germany between 1949 and 1990.[10] By contrast, rural areas ofthe western states of what in the same period used to beWest Germany are more religious, and some rural areas are highly religious.[11]
AncientGermanic paganism was apolytheistic religion practised inprehistoric Germany andScandinavia, as well asRoman territories ofGermania by the first century AD. It had apantheon of deities that includedDonar/Thunar,Wuotan/Wodan,Frouwa/Frua,Balder/Phol/Baldag, and others shared withnorthern Germanic paganism.[12]Celtic paganism and laterGallo-Roman syntheses were instead practised in western and southern parts of modern Germany, whileSlavic paganism was practised in the east.
%2c_Augusta_Treverorum%2c_Trier_(8749080929).jpg)
In the territories of Germany under the control of theRoman Empire (the provincesRaetia,Germania Superior andGermania Inferior), early Christianity was introduced and began to flourish after the fourth century. Although paganRoman temples existed beforehand, Christian religious structures were soon built, such as theAula Palatina inTrier (then the capital of theRoman provinceGallia Belgica), completed during the reign ofRoman emperorConstantine I (306–337).[13]
During theCarolingian period, Christianity spread throughout Germany, particularly during the reign ofCharlemagne (r. 768–814). Religious structures built during the Carolingian period include thePalatine Chapel, Aachen, a surviving component of thePalace of Aachen built by architectOdo of Metz during the reign of Charlemagne.[14]
Territories of the present-day Germany, like much of Europe, were entirelyRoman Catholic with religious break-offs being suppressed by both thePapacy and theHoly Roman Emperor.
Roman Catholicism was the sole established religion in the Holy Roman Empire until the advent of theProtestant Reformation changed this drastically. In the early 16th century abuses (such as sellingindulgences in the Catholic Church) occasioned much discontent, and a general desire for reform emerged. In 1517 the Reformation began with the publication ofMartin Luther's95 Theses detailing 95 assertions which Luther believed showed corruption and misguidance within the Catholic Church. The Reformation demonstrated Luther's disagreement both with the way in which the higher clergy used and abused power, and with the very idea of a papacy. In 1521 theDiet of Worms outlawed Luther, but the Reformation spread rapidly.[15] Luther translated the Bible from Latin to German, establishing the basis of the modern German language. A curious fact is that Luther spoke a dialect which had minor importance in the German language of that time. After the publication of his Bible translation, his dialect evolved into what is now standard modern German.
With theprotestation of the Lutheran princes at theImperial Diet ofSpeyer (1529) and rejection of the Lutheran "Augsburg Confession" at theDiet of Augsburg (1530), a separate Lutheran church emerged.[2]
From 1545 theCounter-Reformation began in Germany. Much of its impetus came from the newly founded (in 1540)Jesuit order. It restored Catholicism to many areas, including Bavaria.[16] The Holy Roman Empire became religiously diverse; for the most part, the states of northern and central Germany became Protestant (chiefly Lutheran, but also Calvinist/Reformed) while the states of southern Germany and theRhineland largely remained Catholic. In 1547 theHoly Roman Emperor Charles V defeated theSchmalkaldic League, an alliance of Protestant rulers. ThePeace of Augsburg in 1555 brought recognition of the Lutheran faith. But the treaty also stipulated that the religion of a state was to be that of its ruler (cuius regio, eius religio).[17]
In 1608/1609 theProtestant Union and theCatholic League formed. TheThirty Years' War (1618–1648), one of the most destructive conflicts in European history, played out primarily in German lands, but involved most of the countries of Europe. It was to some extent a religious conflict, involving both Protestants and Catholics.[18]
Two main developments reshaped religion in Germany after 1814. There was a movement to unite the larger Lutheran and the smaller Reformed Protestant churches. The churches themselves brought this about in Baden, Nassau, and Bavaria. However, in Prussia KingFrederick William III was determined to handle unification entirely on his own terms, without consultation. His goal was tounify the Protestant churches, and to impose a single standardised liturgy, organisation, and even architecture. The long-term goal was to have fully centralised royal control of all the Protestant churches. In a series of proclamations over several decades theEvangelical Church of the Prussian Union was formed, bringing together the more numerous Lutherans and the less numerous Reformed Protestants. The government of Prussia now had full control over church affairs, with the king himself recognised as the leading bishop. Opposition to unification came from the "Old Lutherans" in Prussia and Silesia who followed the theological and liturgical forms they had followed since the days of Luther. The government attempted to crack down on them, so they went underground. Tens of thousands migratedto South Australia and the United States, where they formed theMissouri Synod. Finally, in 1845 the new king,Frederick William IV, offered a general amnesty and allowed the Old Lutherans to form separatefree church associations with only nominal government control.[19]: 412–419 [20][21]: 485–491
From the religious point of view of the typical Catholic or Protestant, major changes were underway in terms of a much more personalised religiosity that focused on the individual more than the church or the ceremony. Opposing the rationalism of the late 18th century, there was a new emphasis on the psychology and feeling of the individual, especially in terms of contemplating sinfulness, redemption, and the mysteries and the revelations of Christianity.Pietistic revivals were common among Protestants. Among Catholics there was a sharp increase in popular pilgrimages. In 1844 alone, half a million pilgrims made a pilgrimage to the city of Trier in the Rhineland to view theSeamless robe of Jesus, said to be the robe that Jesus wore on the way to his crucifixion. Catholic bishops in Germany had historically been largely independent of Rome, but now the Vatican exerted increasing control, a new "ultramontanism" of Catholics highly loyal to Rome.[19]: 419–421 A sharp controversy broke out in 1837–38 in the largely Catholic Rhineland over the religious education of children of mixed marriages, where the mother was Catholic and the father Protestant. The government passed laws to require that these children always be raised as Protestants, contrary to Napoleonic law that had previously prevailed and allowed the parents to make the decision. It put the Catholic Archbishop under house arrest. In 1840, the new King Frederick William IV sought reconciliation and ended the controversy by agreeing to most of the Catholic demands.[21]: 498–509
ChancellorOtto von Bismarck would not tolerate any base of power outside Germany and launched theKulturkampf ("culture war") against the power of the pope and the Catholic Church. This gained strong support from German liberals, who saw the Catholic Church as the bastion of reaction and their greatest enemy. The Catholic element, in turn, saw theNational Liberals as its worst enemy and formed theCenter Party.[22]
Catholics, although about a third of the national population, were seldom allowed to hold major positions in the Imperial government or the Prussian government. After 1871, there was a systematic purge of Catholics; in the powerful interior ministry, which handled all police affairs, the only Catholic was a messenger boy.[23][24]
The German Empire passed thePulpit Law (1871), which made it a crime for any cleric to discuss political issues, and theJesuits Law (1872) drove this order out of German territory. In 1873, Bismarck, as prime minister of Prussia, launched further anti-church measures: Public schools and the registration of births, marriages and deaths were transferred from religious authorities (including the Protestant state church) to the state. Germans could now change their religious affiliation through the civil registry. Other German states followed through with similar measures. Nearly all Catholic bishops, clergy, and laymen rejected the legality of the new laws, and were defiant facing the increasingly heavy penalties and imprisonments imposed by Bismarck's government. Historian Anthony Steinhoff reports the casualty totals:
As of 1878, only three of eight Prussian dioceses still had bishops, some 1,125 of 4,600 parishes were vacant, and nearly 1,800 priests ended up in jail or in exile. ...Finally, between 1872 and 1878, numerous Catholic newspapers were confiscated, Catholic associations and assemblies were dissolved, and Catholic civil servants were dismissed merely on the pretence of having Ultramontane sympathies.[25]
The British ambassadorOdo Russell reported to London in October 1872 how Bismarck's plans were backfiring by strengthening theultramontane (pro-papal) position inside German Catholicism:
The German Bishops who were politically powerless in Germany and theologically in opposition to the Pope in Rome – have now become powerful political leaders in Germany and enthusiastic defenders of the now infallible Faith of Rome, united, disciplined, and thirsting for martyrdom, thanks to Bismarck's uncalled for antiliberal declaration of War on the freedom they had hitherto peacefully enjoyed.[26]
Bismarck underestimated the resolve of the Catholic Church and did not foresee the extremes that this struggle would entail.[27][28] The Catholic Church denounced the harsh new laws as anti-catholic and mustered the support of its rank and file voters across Germany. In the following elections, the Center Party won a quarter of the seats in the Imperial Diet.[29] The conflict ended after 1879 for two reasons: Pope Pius IX died in 1878 and was succeeded by the more conciliatoryPope Leo XIII. Bismarck was also looking for greater parliamentary support after his alliance with theNational Liberals ended over Bismarck's tariff changes andSocial-Democrats emerged as new threat. Following negotiations with Leo XIII,[19]: 568–576 peace was restored: the bishops returned, and the jailed clerics were released. Laws were toned down or taken back (Mitigation Laws 1880–1883 and Peace Laws 1886/87), but the Jesuits Law and the Pulpit Law were not repealed until 1917 and 1953, respectively. The changes concerning schools, civil registry, marriage and religious disaffiliation remain in place today. The Center Party gained strength and became an ally of Bismarck, especially when he attacked socialism.[30]
The national constitution of 1919 determined that the newly formedWeimar Republic had no state church, and guaranteedfreedom of religion. Earlier, these freedoms were mentioned only in state constitutions. Protestants and Catholics were equal before the law, andfreethought flourished. TheGerman Freethinkers League attained about 500,000 members, many of whom wereatheists, before the organisation was shut down by the Nazis in May 1933.[31]
WhenAdolf Hitler'sNazi Partyseized power in January 1933, it sought to assert state supremacy over all sectors of life. TheReichskonkordat neutralized theCatholic Church as a political force. Through the pro-NaziDeutsche Christenbewegung ("German Christians movement") and the forced merger of theGerman Evangelical Church Confederation into theProtestant Reich Church, Protestantism was brought under state control. Following a "gradual worsening of relations" in late 1936, the Nazis supportedKirchenaustrittsbewegung ("movement to leave the church").[32] Although there was no top-down official directive to revoke church membership, some Nazi Party members started doing so voluntarily and put other members under pressure to follow their example.[32] Those who left the churches were designated asGottgläubig: they believed in a higher power, often a creator-God with a special interest in the German nation, but did not belong to any church, nor were they atheists. Many wereGermanic neopagans.[32] This movement, especially promoted byReichsführer-SSHeinrich Himmler, remained relatively small and by 1939, 3.5% of Germans identified asGottgläubig; the overwhelming majority of 94.5% remained Protestant or Catholic, and only 1.5% did not profess any faith.[33] From 1933,Jews in Germany were increasingly marginalised, expelled and persecuted for a combination of religious, racial and economic reasons. From 1941 to the fall ofNazi Germany in 1945, they were actively massacred duringthe Holocaust.[34]
In the aftermath ofWorld War II, two states emerged in Germany in 1949:West Germany under the aegis of theWestern Allies, andEast Germany as part of theSoviet bloc. West Germany, officially known as the Federal Republic of Germany, adopted a constitution in 1949 which protectedfreedom of religion and adopted the regulations of the Weimar Constitution;[36] consequently,[citation needed]secularisation in West Germany proceeded slowly. East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic, had acommunist system which actively tried to reduce the influence of religion in society; the government restricted Christian churches and discriminated against Christians.[37][38] In the 21st century, eastern German states, including the area of the former eastern capital,East Berlin, are less religious than western German states.[10]
Religious communities which are of sufficient size and stability and which are loyal to the constitution can be recognised asKörperschaften öffentlichen Rechtes (statutory corporations). This gives them certain privileges – for example, being able to give religious instruction in state schools (as enshrined in the German constitution, though some states are exempt from this) and having membership fees collected (for a fee) by theGerman revenue department as "church tax" (Kirchensteuer): a surcharge of between 8 and 9% of the income tax. The status mainly applies to theCatholic Church, themainlineProtestant Church in Germany, a number offree churches, andJewish communities. There has been much discussion about allowing other religious groups (such asMuslims) into this system as well.[38][failed verification]
In 2018 thestates ofLower Saxony,Schleswig-Holstein,Hamburg andBremen madeReformation Day (31 October) a permanent official holiday.[39] This initiative began after the day had been held as a nationwide holiday in 2017, due to the 500th Reformation anniversary of the Reformation, and also due to the fact that the northern German states have significantly fewer holidays than the southern ones.
In 2019 the Catholic News Agency reported that the Catholic church in Germany had a net loss of 216,078 members the previous year. The Protestant churches in Germany had a similar net loss of membership of about 220,000 members. While the total of Catholic and Protestant church membership as of 2019[update] stands at 45 million or 53%, demographers predict that based on current trends it will fall to 23 million by 2060.[40] In 2020 it was reported that the Catholic church in Germany had a 402,000 loss in membership, the largest ever single year decrease up to that point. The Protestant churches in Germany also had a large drop in membership of about 440,000.[41]
As per the most recent census (May 2022)Catholics are predominant in the south and west, while unaffiliated people are concentrated in the east, where they make up the majority of the population, and are also significant in the north and west of the country, were they make up the majority of the population in metropolitan areas.[42] With the decline of Christianity in the late 20th and early 21st century, accentuated in the east by the official atheism of the formerGerman Democratic Republic, the northeastern states of Germany are now mostly not religious (70%), with many of the people living there beingagnostics andatheists.[10]
Immigrations in the late 20th and early 21st century have brought new religions into Germany, includingEastern Orthodox Christianity andIslam. Eastern Orthodoxy is practised among immigrantGreeks,Serbs,Russians,Romanians and other communities.[43] MostMuslims areSunnis, but there are a small number ofAlevis,Shi'a and members of other minority sects.[44] Moreover, Germany has Europe's third-largestJewish population (after France and the United Kingdom).[45]
In modern Germany, several censuses have been carried out. From the reformation until the 1960s, the majority of the German population was Protestant (mainly Lutherans belonging to theProtestant Church in Germany) while approximatively one-third of the population wasCatholic.[46][47] After theGerman reunification, the religious landscape was significantly changed, as found by the 2011 Census, the first one since the 1960s.
The census in 2011 found that Christianity was the religion of 53,257,550 people or 66.8% of the total population, among whom 24,869,380 or 31.2% were Catholics, 24,552,110 or 30.8% were Protestants of the Protestant Church in Germany, 714,360 or 0.9% were members of Protestantfree churches, and 1,050,740 or 1.3% were members ofEastern Orthodox andOriental Orthodox churches. A further 2.6% was affiliated to any other Christian denomination. Jews were 83,430 people or 0.1%, and 4,137,140 or 5.2% were members of other religions. The remaining 22,223,010 people, or 27.9% of the total German population, were not believers in or not members of any religion (including atheists, agnostics and believers in unrecognised religions).[4]
| Religion | 1910[α] | 1925[β] | 1933[β] | 1939[β] | 1946[γ] | 1950[γ] | 1960s[γ][δ] | 1990 | 2001 | 2011[4][51][52] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Christianity | 63,812,000 | 98.3 | 60,208,000 | 96.5 | 62,037,000 | 95.2 | 65,127,000 | 94.0 | 59,973,519 | 94.9 | 65,514,677 | 94.7 | 65,455,144 | 89.4 | 57,947,000 | 73.2 | 52,742,000 | 64.1 | 53,257,550 | 66.8 |
| –EKD andFree Churches | 39,991,000 | 61.6 | 40,015,000 | 64.1 | 40,865,000 | 62.7 | 42,103,000 | 60.8 | 37,240,625 | 59.0 | 40,974,217 | 59.2 | 39,293,907 | 53.7 | 29,422,000 | 37.2 | 26,454,000 | 32.2 | 25,266,470 | 31.7 |
| –Catholicism | 23,821,000 | 36.7 | 20,193,000 | 32.4 | 21,172,000 | 32.5 | 23,024,000 | 33.2 | 22,732,894 | 35.9 | 24,540,460 | 35.5 | 26,161,237 | 35.7 | 28,525,000 | 36.1 | 26,288,000 | 32.0 | 24,869,380 | 31.2 |
| –Eastern Orthodox Christianity | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | – | – | – | - | 1,050,740 | 1.3 |
| –Other Christians | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,070,960 | 2.6 |
| Judaism | 615,000 | 1.0 | 564,000 | 0.9 | 500,000 | 0.8 | 222,000 | 0.3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | – | – | – | - | 84,430 | 0.1 |
| Other[ε] | 498,000 | 0.7 | 1,639,000 | 2.6 | 2,681,000 | 4.0 | 3,966,000 | 5.7 | 623,956 | 1.0[ζ] | 752,575 | 1.1 | 1,089,673 | 1.5 | – | – | – | - | 4,137,140 | 5.2 |
| No religion | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1,190,629 | 1.5 | 2,572,369 | 4.1[η] | 3,438,020 | 4.9 | 7,459,914 | 10.2 | – | – | – | - | 22,223,010 | 27.9 |
| Total population | 64,926,000 | 100 | 62,411,000 | 100 | 65,218,000 | 100 | 69,314,000 | 100 | 63,169,844 | 100 | 69,187,072 | 100 | 73,178,431 | 100 | 79,112,831 | 100 | 82,259,540 | 100 | 79,652,360 | 100 |
German major religious bodies publish yearly updated records of their membership.[53]
Only certain religious group publish updated figures on their official membership, and this kind of data is collected in order to levy taxes on the registered membership of those churches, which corresponds to 9% of the total income tax (8% inBaden-Württemberg).[54] According to a study, nearly 29% of the persons who unregistered from their church in 2022 did so in order to avoid paying the church tax.[55] According to a 2017 study by thePew Research Center, around 20% of people who are not registered to any church nonetheless consider themselves Christians.[56]
According to these church stats, Christianity is the largest religious group in Germany, with around 39.8 million adherents (47.7%) in 2024 of whom 19.8 million are Catholics (23.7%) and 18 million are Protestants (21.5%).[1]
According to other estimates, Eastern Orthodox Christianity has 1.2 million members or 1.5% of the population. Other minor Christian religions counted together have approximately 0.8 million members, forming 1% of the total population.[1]
The second largest religion in Germany isIslam, with around 3.3–4.7 million adherents (3.9–5.7% of the population), almost all of whom have full or partial foreign background.[57][1][43] Smaller religious groups includeBuddhism (0.2%),Judaism (0.1%),Hinduism (0.1%),Yazidis (0.1%) and others (0.3%).[1][43] At the end of 2024, 39.1 million or 46.8% of the country's populationwere not affiliated with any church or religion.[1]
Demographers estimate that in Germany there are around 100,000 religious Jews (Judaism), and a further 90,000 ethnicJews with no religion, around 100,000Yazidis, 130,000Hindus, and 270,000Buddhists.[43]
| Percentage of the population (right) Source (left) | Total Christianity | Christian denominations | No religion | Other religions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catholicism | Protestants | Eastern Orthodox | Other denominations | Islam | Judaism | Buddhism | Other religions | |||
| Eurobarometer (September 2019)[58] | 61 | 30 | 24 | 2 | 5 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Eurobarometer (December 2018)[59] | 66.1 | 29.5 | 26.6 | 2.2 | 7.8 | 27.6 | 3.7 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.8 |
| German General Social Survey (2018)[60] | 63.2 | 29.1 | 31.9 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 33.3 | 2.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| International Social Survey Programme (2017)[61] | 63.5 | 30.1 | 31.1 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 33.4 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Politbarometer (2017) entitled to vote only[62] | 66.1 | 32.4 | 33.7 | included in "others" | 29.9 | 2.2 | 0.04 | 1.6 (incl. other Christians) | ||
 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2021) |
In 2016, the survey Politbarometer provided data regarding religion in each of thestates of Germany for adults who are entitled to vote (18+), as reported in the table below.[68] Christianity is the dominant religion ofWestern Germany, excludingHamburg, which has a non-religious plurality.Northern Germany has traditionally been dominated byProtestantism, especiallyLutheranism. The two northernmost provinces ofSchleswig-Holstein andLower Saxony have the largest percentage of self-reported Lutherans in Germany.[74]Southern Germany has aCatholic majority, but also a significantLutheranProtestant population (especially in NorthernWürttemberg and some parts ofBaden andFranconia (Northern Bavaria)), in contrast to the almost entirely ProtestantNorthern Germany.Irreligion is predominant inEastern Germany, which was the least religious region amongst 30 countries surveyed in a study in 2012.[75][76][77]
| Religion by state, 2016[68] | Protestants | Catholics | Not religious | Muslims | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Baden-Württemberg | 37.6% | 40.6% | 16.4% | 2.5% | 3.0% |
 Bavaria | 23.4% | 58.6% | 15.6% | 1.1% | 1.3% |
 Brandenburg | 24.9% | 3.5% | 69.9% | 0.0% | 1.5% |
 Bremen | 51.8% | 7.8% | 39.1% | 0.0% | 1.3% |
 formerEast Berlin | 14.3% | 7.5% | 74.3% | 1.5% | 2.4% |
| formerWest Berlin | 32.0% | 12.4% | 43.5% | 8.5% | 3.5% |
 Hamburg | 34.3% | 9.0% | 44.1% | 10.9% | 1.7% |
 Hesse | 50.2% | 21.7% | 22.2% | 3.8% | 2.1% |
 Lower Saxony | 53.8% | 18.7% | 24.1% | 2.5% | 0.9% |
 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 24.9% | 3.9% | 70.0% | 0.3% | 0.9% |
 North Rhine-Westphalia | 30.9% | 44.6% | 18.1% | 4.4% | 2.0% |
 Rhineland-Palatinate | 34.8% | 42.4% | 19.6% | 1.0% | 2.1% |
 Saarland | 22.3% | 68.1% | 8.2% | 1.4% | 0.0% |
 Saxony | 27.6% | 4.0% | 66.9% | 0.3% | 1.1% |
 Saxony-Anhalt | 18.8% | 5.1% | 74.7% | 0.3% | 1.2% |
 Schleswig-Holstein | 61.5% | 3.2% | 31.3% | 2.2% | 1.7% |
 Thuringia | 27.8% | 9.5% | 61.2% | 0.0% | 1.5% |
 Germany | 34.5% | 32.2% | 29.0% | 2.5% | 1.8% |
According to a survey by Pew Research Center in 2017, 60% of German adult population believe in God, while 36% do not believe in God (9% don't believe in God but in a higher power, 27% do not believe in God or any higher power):[78]
| Belief | % of population | |
|---|---|---|
| Believe in God (Monotheism) | 60 | |
| Believe in God, absolutely certain | 10 | |
| Believe in God, fairly certain | 37 | |
| Believe in God, not too certain | 12 | |
| Believe in God, not at all certain | 1 | |
| Believe in a higher power or spiritual force (Ietsism) | 9 | |
| Do not believe in God or any higher power or spiritual force (Atheism) | 27 | |
| Don't know (Agnosticism) or refused to answer | 4 | |
At its foundation in 1871, about two-thirds of the population of the German Empire belonged to a stateProtestant church;[a] in 2024 theProtestant Church in Germany was the faith of 21.5%. In 1871, one-third of the population wasCatholic; in 2024 its membership was 23.7%. Other faiths have existed in the state, but never achieved the demographic significance and cultural impact of these denominations.
As of 2024,Christianity, with around 39.8 million members, was the largest religion in Germany (47.7% of the population), although many of them take no active part in church life.[1] About 1.5% of the population was Eastern Orthodox Christian in 2024, and about 1% followed other forms of Christianity (including other Protestant churches,Jehovah's Witnesses,The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and others).[1]
Catholic churches in full communion:
Church not in communion:
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As of 2024, 39.1 million or 46.8% of the Germans areirreligious.[1] Before World War II, about two-thirds of the German population was Protestant and one-third was Roman Catholic. In the north and northeast of Germany especially, Protestants dominated.[83] In the formerWest Germany between 1945 and 1990, which contained nearly all of Germany's historically Catholic areas, Catholics have had a small majority since the 1980s. Due to a generation behind theIron Curtain, Protestant areas of the former states ofPrussia were much more affected by secularism than predominantly Catholic areas. The predominantly secularised states, such asHamburg or the East German states, used to be Lutheran orUnited Protestant strongholds. Because of this, Protestantism is now strongest in two strips of territory in the former West Germany, one extending from the Danish border to Hesse, and the other extending northeast–southwest across southern Germany.
There is a non-religious majority inHamburg,Bremen,Berlin,Brandenburg,Saxony,Saxony-Anhalt,Thuringia, andMecklenburg-Vorpommern. In the eastern state ofSaxony-Anhalt, only 19.7% belong to the two main denominations of the country.[84] This is the state where Martin Luther was born and lived most of his life.
In what used to be East Germany both religious observance and affiliation are much lower than in the rest of the country, after forty years of Communist rule. The government of theGerman Democratic Republic encouraged a state atheist worldview through institutions such asJugendweihen (youth consecrations) —secular coming-of-age ceremonies akin to Christian confirmation which all young people were encouraged to attend. The number of christenings, religious weddings, and funerals is also lower than in the West.
According to a survey among German youths (aged 12 to 24) in the year 2006, most German youths are non-religious (51%). 30% of German youths stated belief in a personal god, 19% believe in some kind of supernatural power, 23% share agnostic views and 28% are atheists.[85]
Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in the country. There are between 3.2 and 4.7 million Muslims, around 3.9% of the population.[1][86] The majority of Muslims in Germany are ofTurkish origin, followed by those from Pakistan, countries of theformer Yugoslavia,Arab countries,Iran, andAfghanistan. This figure includes the different denominations of Islam, such asSunni,Shia,Ahmadi, andAlevi. Muslims first came to Germany as part of the diplomatic, military, and economic relations between Germany and theOttoman Empire in the 18th century.[87]
Between 2010 and 2016, the number of Muslims living in Germany increased from 3.3 million (4.1% of the population) to nearly 5 million (6.1%). The most important factor in the growth of Germany's Muslim population is immigration.[88]
Buddhists are the third largest group of believers in Germany after differentreligious denominations of Christianity andIslam. There are around 270,000 Buddhists who are living in Germany.[43]
Most of them are followers of theBuddhist school ofTheravada especially fromSri Lanka. Furthermore, there are followers ofVajrayana, also referred to asTibetan Buddhism as well as followers ofNichiren Buddhism mainly from Japan andZen Buddhism from Japan, as well. Around 59,000 Buddhists are fromThailand who follow the school ofTheravada and keep 48 temples in Germany and form one of the largest Buddhist community of Buddhists of Asian origin in Germany. A large portion of Buddhists in Eastern Germany are part of the Vietnamese community. Most of the differentBuddhist schools and organisation in Germany are members of the non-profit associationDeutsche Buddhistische Union e.V. (DBU).
Jewish communities in German speaking regions go back to the fourth century.[90] In 1910, about 600,000 Jews lived in Germany. AfterAdolf Hitler assumed power in 1933, he began systematically persecuting Jews in Germany.Systematic mass murder of Jews inGerman-occupied Europe began with the 1941invasion of the Soviet Union. By the end ofWorld War II, four years later, around 6 million Jews had been killed by the National Socialist government.[91]
About ninety thousandJews from the former Eastern Bloc, mostly from ex-Soviet Union countries, have settled in Germany since the fall of theBerlin Wall. This is mainly due to a German government policy which effectively grants an immigration opportunity to anyone from theCommonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic states with Jewish heritage, and the fact that today's Germans are seen as more significantly accepting of Jews than many people in ex-Soviet regions.
Recently, antisemitic abuse against Jews in Germany has increased. The Central Council of Jews has urged Jewish Germans to avoid wearing theirkippahs in public.[92]
There are approximately 100,000Hindus living in Germany.[43] Most of them areTamil Hindus fromSri Lanka (around 42,000 to 45,000); from India are around 35,000 to 40,000; of German or European origin are around 7,500 and around 5,000 Hindus are originally fromAfghanistan. There are also Hindus fromNepal in Germany however this number is very low.
In addition, there areHindus in Germany who are followers ofNew religious movements such asHare Krishna movement,Bhakti yoga, andTranscendental Meditation. However, the total number of these followers in Germany is comparatively low.
There is a largeYazidi community in Germany, estimated to be numbering around 100,000 people.[43] This makes the German Yazidi community one of the largest Yazidi communities in the Yazidi diaspora.
Between 10,000 and 20,000Sikhs are living in Germany.[43] ManySikhs in Germany have their roots fromPunjab region in the north of India, as well as from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Germany has the third highest Sikh population in Europe after United Kingdom and Italy. The cityFrankfurt is also known to the Sikhs, as Mini Punjab, because of a great Sikh Population, residing there.
In 2020, there were more than 10,000Druze living in Germany, with the largest concentration inBerlin andNorth Rhine-Westphalia.[94] The number of Druze has increased in recent years with thousands ofSyrian refugees of the Syrian Civil War entered Germany to seek refugee status.[95] Druze in Germany are mostly ofSyrian descent, and they practice Druzism, amonotheistic religion encompasses aspects of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Greek philosophy, among influences.[96]
A 1997–8 estimate is of 4000 Bahá'ís in Germany. In 2002 there were 106 Local Spiritual Assemblies. The 2007-8German Census usingsampling estimated 5–6,000 Bahá'ís in Germany. Following theGerman reunification in 1989–91 theFederal Constitutional Court of Germany handed down a judgment affirming the status of the Bahá'í Faith as a religion in Germany. Continued development of youth oriented programs included the Diversity Dance Theater (seeOscar DeGruy) which traveled toAlbania in February 1997.Udo Schaefer et al.'s 2001Making the Crooked Straight was written to refute apolemic supported by theProtestant Church in Germany written in 1981. Since its publication the Protestant Church in Germany has revised its own relationship to the German Bahá'í Community. Former member of the federal parliamentErnst Ulrich von Weizsaecker commended the ideas of the German Bahá'í community on social integration, which were published in a statement in 1998, and ChancellorHelmut Kohl sent a congratulatory message to the 1992 ceremony marking the 100th Anniversary of theAscension of Bahá'u'lláh.
Neopagan religions have been public in Germany at least since the 19th century. NowadaysGermanic Heathenism (Germanisches Heidentum, orDeutschglaube for its peculiar German forms) has many organisations in the country, including theGermanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft (Communion of Germanic Faith), theHeidnische Gemeinschaft (Heathen Communion), theVerein für germanisches Heidentum (Association for Germanic Heathenry), theNornirs Ætt, theEldaring, theArtgemeinschaft, theArmanen-Orden, and Thuringian Firne Sitte.
Other Pagan religions include theCelto-GermanicMatronenkult grassroots worship practiced inRhineland, Celtoi (aCeltic religious association), andWiccan groups. As of 2006, 1% of the population ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia adheres to new religions or esoteric groups.
The German government provides information and warnings aboutcults,sects, andnew religious movements. In 1997, the parliament set up a commission forSogenannte Sekten und Psychogruppen (literally "so-called sects and psychic groups"), which in 1998 delivered an extensive report on the situation in Germany regarding NRMs.[97] In 2002, the Federal Constitutional Court upheld the governmental right to provide critical information on religious organisations being referred to asSekte, but stated that "defamatory, discriminating, or falsifying accounts" were illegal.[98]
When classifying religious groups, the Roman Catholic Church and theProtestant Church in Germany (EKD) use a three-level hierarchy of "churches", "free churches" andSekten:
Every ProtestantLandeskirche (church whose canonical jurisdiction extends over one or several states, orLänder) and Catholic episcopacy has aSektenbeauftragter (Sekten delegate) from whom information about religious movements may be obtained.
In 2023,Freedom House scored Germany 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.[101]
[...] it was not primarily a religious war. [...] Religion certainly provided a powerful focus for identity, but it had to compete with political, social, linguistic, gender and other distinctions. most contemporary observers spoke of imperial, Bavarian, Swedish, or Bohemian troops, not Catholic or Protestant, which are anachronistic labels used for convenience since the nineteenth century to simplify accounts. The war was religious only to the extent that faith guided all early modern public policy and private behaviour.
[...] the SED's basic outlook towards the churches remained constant, even though the New Course had forced a premature end to the first phase of the party's efforts to restrict religious influence over youth.
The Basic Law of Germany guarantees religious freedom and lays out the general structure of church-state relations. Religious communities may organize into 'statutory corporations' in order to receive tax privileges and give religious instruction in public schools. There is a growing Muslim community as a result of decades of immigration, mainly from Turkey, which still lacks full state recognition.
According to the German Bishops' Conference, the Catholic Church in the country declined by 216,078 members last year. Protestant churches saw a similar drop, with 220,000 members leaving during that time period. [...]Some 53% of the country's population remains either Catholic or Protestant, according to DW. Both churches currently have more than 20 million members. [...]However, the University of Freiburg predicted that membership in both churches will be cut in half by 2060, dropping from a combined total of 45 million currently to below 23 million in the next 40 years.
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