A Survey Published by the Institute of Pastoral Sociology of Saint-Gall in Switzerland Reveals that 34,000 People Have Left the Catholic Church in the Country
Newsroom (02/11/2022 8:31 PM, Gaudium Press) The Institute for Pastoral Sociology Saint-Gall in Switzerland has revealed that 34,182 people have left the Catholic Church in the country.
The number of people leaving the Church has seen a steady increase in recent years. In 2019, there were 31,772 people leaving the Church and 31,410 in the year 2021.
The report also explains that the rate of people leaving the religion averages 1.1%. A similar number to neighboring countries like Germany (1.6%) and Austria (1.5%).
In contrast, the number of people joining the Catholic Church remains very low. In 2021, 910 people joined the Church. In 2019 and 2020, the number of people joining was 885 and 735 respectively.
The study also gathered data on the main reasons people leave the Catholic Church. The main reason is disagreement with the magisterium and the Church’s position on celibacy of priests, homosexuality, abortion, and the role of women in the Church.
The type profile of the person leaving the Church has also been traced by the SPI study. The data collected by the statistics lead the study to quote Jörg Stolz and Edmée Ballif in a 2010 study.
The authors state that the ideal candidate to leave the Church is therefore a German-speaking young Swiss, childless, living in a large city and having a high income.” (FM)
Compiled by Florence MacDonald
