Decline in Christian Religious Education Enrollment in Germany

Fewer students are attending Christian religious classes, while participation in ethics and Islamic studies is rising.

Recent data from the Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK) indicates a significant drop in students attending Christian religious education in Germany.
In Bavaria, the number of students in Catholic and Protestant classes fell by about 100,000 between the 2015/16 and 2023/24 school years.
Berlin also saw a decline, with Catholic and Protestant student numbers decreasing by over 16,000 since 2015/16.
Conversely, enrollment in ethics classes has surged nationwide, with nearly 1.8 million students participating last year.
Islamic religious education has also seen increased participation, with numbers nearly doubling over the past decade.