Religion
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Germany is a very country and religion tends to be regarded as quite a private matter. Nevertheless, the majority of the population identifies as religious, with Christianity being the traditional and dominant faith. In 2023, it was estimated that 46.2% of Germans do not identify with a religion, while 46.2% identify as Roman Catholic and 21.9% as Protestant Christians.1 Islam is the largest non-Christian faith (3.8% of the population), mostly comprised of people with a migrant background from countries such as Turkey and Bosnia.1 The remaining 4.1% identify with other variations of Christianity, Alevism, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Yazidism or another religion.1
Despite the majority of Germans indicating that they follow a religious affiliation, the number of those practising is much lower. In a study by the Pew Research Center, only 21% of Germans reported that religion was very important to their lives.2
Religion in Germany
Germany was the birthplace of Martin Luther, who initiated the Protestant Reformation movements of the 16th century in resistance to the creed of the Catholic Church. His movement eventually led to a political divide between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. This was mediated by a territorial distribution of religious practice. Starting in the mid-16th century, entire towns and municipalities followed the faith of their local ruler’s preference (either Catholic or Protestant). This geographical division of faith is still visible in the religious affiliations of Germans today. The south and west of the country are mostly Catholic, whilst most Protestants live in the north and east. One can usually still infer the traditional faith of each German town and city by looking at the religious architecture.
On the other hand, the majority of the non-religious population live in East Germany. This is largely because the region was under communist occupation as the DDR (German Republic) from 1945 to 1990. During this era, belief or membership in a religious organisation was considered to be incompatible with loyalty to the Communist Party. As such, the regime actively suppressed and surveilled church activity. For many East Germans, their church remained a place of sanctuary and played a crucial role in providing an independent voice. However, between 1950 and 1989, the religious population was estimated to have shrunk from 98% to 31%.3