In the year 2022, the Catholic Church in Switzerland experienced a historic exodus, with almost 34,600 individuals parting ways with the church. This staggering figure marked an increase of

300 departures compared to the previous record set in 2021.

At the close of 2022, the Swiss Pastoral Sociological Institute (SPI) reported that the Catholic Church in Switzerland had 2.89 million members. These findings, initially unveiled by the Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick, indicate a concerning trend.

The SPI anticipates that the number of resignations will escalate further in 2023. It attributes this projected increase to the recent report on sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland.

"In recent weeks and months, the Catholic Church has lost reputation and trust," remarked the SPI. Allegations of systematic cover-ups, protection of wrongdoers, and other accusations have marred the church's image. These damaging revelations have eroded the church's credibility.

In 2022, the cantons of Basel-City, Aargau, and Solothurn recorded the highest number of resignations. Conversely, the inflow of new members has remained at a consistently low level over the years. In 2022, only 1,080 individuals joined the Catholic Church.

A Similar Trend in the Protestant Church

The Catholic Church is not alone in grappling with a mass exodus of members. In the same year, the Protestant Reformed Church saw 30,393 individuals leaving, surpassing the 28,540 departures recorded in 2021. At the end of 2022, the Protestant Reformed Church in Switzerland had an estimated 1.92 million members.

The statistics provided by the SPI are compiled from surveys conducted in various parishes and data from third-party sources, including the Federal Statistical Office. Photo by Ginkgo2g, Wikimedia commons.