Franconia: The most Catholic village of Bavaria surprises everyone!

Franconia: The most Catholic village of Bavaria surprises everyone!

In Bavaria, there is an impressive picture of the denominations: in particular in Franconia there are municipalities with an overwhelming proportion of Catholics and Protestants. According to a current evaluation of the Federal Statistical Office, the small village of Wattendorf in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg has the highest number with 92.5 percent of the residents that are members of the Roman Catholic Church. In the immediate comparison, Weigenheim is 81.5 percent in Middle Franconia, which raises the community in this region to the Protestant stronghold. These figures illustrate the historical separation of the denominations, which is often due to the decision of former princes, which religion was practiced in their areas, such as Merkur.de reported.

leaves press membership numbers

The Roman Catholic Church remains the largest religious community in Germany, but it is still faced with a considerable loss of membership. In 2022, around 400,000 people announced their exit, which has marked one of the highest values since the start of the survey. This brings the number of 28.3 million in 1990 to around 20.4 million in 2023, such as Statista . The main reasons for leaving are dissatisfaction with church tax and numerous scandals within the institution. Celibacy and other church regulations also come across broad rejection, which continues to cloud the image of the church.

These developments are particularly striking in the context of regional differences: While almost half of the population is Catholic in Saarland, the proportion in Saxony-Anhalt is terrifyingly low, especially in the new federal states. Solutions seem necessary because despite declining figures, the church generated income of 6.8 billion euros in 2022 by church tax. This remains the most important source of financing, even if demands for reforms are getting louder.