German Catholic church ‘dying painful death’ as 520,000 leave in a year

A man prays in Cologne Cathedral. The Catholic church in Germany has 21 million members. Photograph: Martin Meissner/AP

The Catholic church in Germany has revealed it is losing followers like never before, with more than half a million people deciding to renounce their membership last year.

According to the Bonn-based German Bishops’ Conference, 522,821 people left the church in 2022, a number far surpassing predictions made by the institution itself and higher than most observers had expected. The previous record year for departures was in 2021, when just under 360,000 people left.