25% of Christians consider leaving church in Germany over abuse scandals: Survey

BERLIN (AA) - About one in four Christians in Germany are considering leaving church due to the sex abuse scandals, a survey revealed on Thursday.

Mostly the members of the Catholic Church have lost faith in the clergy and church after the scandals in recent years, according to the Religion Monitor study of the Bertelsmann Foundation.

Among the Germans who said that they were considering leaving the church, 66% of them were members of the Catholic Church, and 33% were the members of the Protestant Church.

Some 81% of them said they are thinking of leaving the church mainly because they lost trust in these religious institutions. Other respondents criticized them over reluctance to reform and modernize their policies.

About 71% of them also criticized churches for having “too much power and influence” in Germany, and 68% said the current privileges of churches are “unfair in a multi-religious society.”

The survey also revealed that there is an increasing trend among young people in Germany for leaving the church.

Among the members of Christian and Protestant churches, 41% of those aged between 16 and 24 said they are questioning their commitment to the church.

That figure was 19% among those aged between 55 and 69, and only 5% among those 70 years old and older.