Switzerland: The proportion of Catholics is falling
The latest statistics from the Roman Catholic Church show that the number of baptisms is falling and the number of people leaving the Church is increasing. So far, this effect has been mitigated by the immigration of devout Catholics from abroad to Switzerland.
As the tendency to leave the institution is manifesting itself among younger and younger people, the Catholic Church in Switzerland runs the risk of its members aging faster than the population as a whole, the SPI specifies.
While the absolute number of Catholics has remained stable, their share in the total population is steadily decreasing. This raises many questions, including the choice of pastoral care and the development of lay staff. And also – crucially – the maintenance or not of the church buildings.
The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) states that between 2010 and 2019 the proportion of Catholics and Evangelical Reformed people fell (by 4 and 5 percentage points, respectively), in contrast to Muslims or Muslim communities (+1 point).
The proportion of Jewish communities has not changed, while the proportion of people without religious affiliation has increased by 9 points. The FSO mentions that Switzerland had 8.7 million inhabitants in 2020, 2.2 million of them foreigners.
Baptisms in decline
In Switzerland, small children are baptized in the vast majority of cases. The number of baptisms has decreased in all dioceses over the years.
The significantly stronger decline between 2019 and 2020 is mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic: 11,968 baptisms were counted in 2020 (-32% compared to 2019). It should also be noted that the Catholic Church in French-speaking Switzerland had to accept a significantly greater decline than in German-speaking Switzerland.
Church exits remain high
In 2020, 31,410 people left the Catholic Church, almost as many as the record of 31,772 in 2019. In Switzerland, the exit rate is 1.1%. Note that the cantons of Geneva, Valais, Neuchâtel and Vaud, which do not have ecclesiastical bodies under civil law (or mandatory church tax), do not record withdrawals from the church.
Compared to the number of people leaving, the number of newcomers and returnees has been at a low level for years. In 2020, 735 people joined the Catholic Church, compared to 885 people in 2019. The ratio between entries and exits is 1 in 42.
All cantons recorded a decrease in the relative share of Catholics in the total resident population. The total number of Catholic believers was around 3 million people at the end of 2020.
The relative proportion of the members of the Evangelical Reformed Church in the population has also declined in recent decades and was around 2 million members at the end of 2020.
A church in need of piety
As early as November 26, 2019, the Swiss Institute for Pastoral Sociology found in its annual study that, in addition to the – slightly declining – migration phenomenon, two decisive factors explain the different numbers of members: Entries into the church and exits from the institution, as well as the behavior of Catholic parents towards the Baptism.
The annual report stressed that at the level of believers’ piety and attitudes towards baptism, church leaders could have the most options.
In fact, according to the 2019 report, after many years of observing a major weakness in the number of priestly ordinations and sacraments and observing a regular decline in ecclesiastical marriages in recent years, there has also been a decline in baptisms.
In the longer term, this leads to an increasing erosion of the number of believers. When we know that there are more young people than older people behind the exit figures, it becomes clear that the number of members of the Catholic Church has declined more sharply among the new generations.
Finally, in sociological jargon, the following question arises: “Should the churches be more traditionally linked or should they be distinguished from society as an alternative community?”
“Or should they put themselves at the service of society, trusting a lively and future-oriented tradition and seek their closeness? Because only in proximity to people will she be able to recognize her fundamental tradition? “
– These confused questions from the Swiss Institute for Pastoral Sociology clearly show that the aggiornamento they wanted 60 years after the Second. The numbers say it all.