I read somewhere that something like .5% of the German populace attend church on any given Sunday. The following statistics, from Ecumenical News International (www.eni.ch) would suggest the accuracy of such a claim.
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More Catholic departures than baptisms for first time in Germany
Berlin (ENI). For the first time since membership records have been kept, more Germans departed the Roman Catholic Church than were baptized into it in 2010, according to new data from Germany's Catholic Conference of Bishops. The new statistics, which were released with little analysis or comment, showed 170,339 baptisms for the year, and 181,193 departures from the church. However, 3,576 new members, and more than 7,400 returning Catholics, joined the church last year. [114 words, ENI-11-0405]
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Low figures like that amaze me every time I hear them. I see those magnificent cathedrals, those inspired, sacred spaces, and wonder at home in such a shallow age, such beauty and depth do not move people to contemplate the divine.
Is it because churches are often state-sponsored, sapping them of their own vitality? Is it because the religious landmarks around Germany are seen by local as relics of their civic past? How do we, in a land of anonymous warehouse ministries and big-box, Christ-less, pop-Christianity, have more attendance than they?
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