国产精品99一区二区三_免费中文日韩_国产在线精品一区二区_日本成人手机在线

Christian churches in Germany keep losing members

Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 05:54:23|Editor: Chengcheng
Video PlayerClose

BERLIN, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Catholic and Protestant churches have lost a combined 660,000 members in 2017, the two churches announced on Friday. Now, only slightly over half of the German population belongs to one of the two Christian denominations.

According to the Evangelical church in Germany (EKD) the number of Protestants fell by 390,000 members to 21.5 million in 2017, a decrease of 1.8 percent. The German Bishops' Conference (DBK) released their numbers which show 270,000 Catholics had left the church which currently has 23.3 million members in Germany.

Overall, 54 percent of the German population still belongs to one of the two Christian churches. In 2005, the figure was still at 62 percent.

One reason for the decreasing member numbers is the aging population in Germany. In 2017, 350,000 members of the Protestant Church died, compared to 240,000 of Catholics. Young Germans are less likely to become a member in the first place.

The demographic change, however, cannot be the only reason for the continuous decrease of members, Andreas Puettmann, the author of "Society Without God" argues. "The decline in membership is less demographic than due to the fact that making faith a tradition in families, communities and schools does not work properly," the church expert told the German press agency (dpa).

Sociologists specialized in religion, reason it may be less the fault of the churches and what they offer. General social developments, such as increasing prosperity, individualization, urbanization, diverse leisure opportunities, expansion of education and increase in mobility, all these things make it less necessary especially for young people to be part of a church.

According to Puettmann "only one in three says they are interested in religious topics."

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011100001373385921
主站蜘蛛池模板: 浑源县| 塔河县| 益阳市| 通化市| 柳州市| 台北市| 常熟市| 突泉县| 博野县| 商洛市| 巴青县| 翼城县| 霍林郭勒市| 邓州市| 武邑县| 大埔县| 体育| 信宜市| 和田市| 宝应县| 武冈市| 桃园市| 花莲县| 九台市| 神木县| 历史| 探索| 侯马市| 中宁县| 棋牌| 历史| 阿拉尔市| 涿鹿县| 尚义县| 桑日县| 康马县| 绥滨县| 渭源县| 枝江市| 通州市| 南城县|