Catholic Churches in Germany are currently losing priests and parishes due to a feared decline in church tax revenue. The number of churchgoers is decreasing at most in Germany and the world's richest plans to reduce its parishes from about 500 to 50 by 2030. "Those nostalgic days are over. That's why churches need to be restructured to ensure they aren't a burden, but useful."
A study showed and predicted that membership numbers would be halved by 20160 with deaths outnumbering births in recent years. In Germany, 22.6 million Catholics are reported to be in Germany and a drop of 400,000 in 2019. 20.7 million Protestants decreased to 427,000 than before. Altogether, 52.1% of people in Germany still officially belong to one of the two main Christian denominations.
In a statement, the Vatican opposed the German church's plans mentioning each church must be led by a priest. Pastoral work lacks in Germany as one Archbishop, Ludwig Schick stated it is 'theologically deficient'. Thomas Sternberg, the president of the Central Committee of German Catholics stated 'some of it is so divorced from reality and absurd."
Made for Minds stated the creation of larger parishes could decrease overheads, but also increase the distance between churchgoer and the church. Targeting the younger generation, Gerd Landsberg pointed out roles that play within the church ministry in German society. He reminded the members of the specific roles and provided them a reasonable pressure on the federal government to step in. Many Catholics who grew up within the Church ministry believe 'there is no future in needing to drive 50 kilometers to the nearby service.' Susanne Ludewig, a Catholic in Kassel stated the church is 'tailored to the church.' With the ongoing focus on the roles of priests, many concerns are left behind the Churches in Germany.
Germany's percentage of baptisms and weddings taking place in churches dropped sharply as it is reported to be a country with a record of 272,771 people leaving the county's Catholic Church in 2019. Churches in Germany suffer financially when they lose members as the church tax is deducted from people's incomes if they are registered as being either Catholic or Protestant.
