Swiss church ‘exits’ almost double, setting new record
BASEL (SWITZERLAND)
The Pillar [Washington DC]
November 14, 2024
By Luke Coppen
Read original article[Illustration above: A map showing Switzerland and its cantons. Dmmaos via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).]
The number of people formally leaving the Catholic Church in Switzerland almost doubled in 2023, setting a new record, according to new statistics issued Thursday.
he Swiss Institute for Pastoral Sociology (SPI) in St. Gallen said Nov. 14 that 67,497 people left the Church last year, far exceeding the previous annual record of 34,561 set in 2022.
“Across Switzerland as a whole, the average departure rate is 2.6%,” it said.
The SPI estimated that, at the end of 2023, there were around 2.8 million Swiss Catholics out of a population of 8.7 million.
The SPI said the near-doubling of the “church exit” figure was due to the abuse crisis that engulfed the Swiss Church in September 2023, when the Vatican ordered a probe into allegations against six members of the country’s bishops’ conference.
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