German Church in danger of death spiral as revenues plummet. Watch the Synodalists lose interest when there is no more money.

Revenues plummet

Now the Churches are also pulling out the austerity hammer

Gray clouds – like this one at the Catholic Congress in Erfurt – are looming over Germany's two major churches: Church tax revenues are declining after adjusting for inflation, and now the budget cuts are being made

Gray clouds – like this one at the Catholic Congress in Erfurt – are looming over Germany's two major churches: Church tax revenues are declining after adjusting for inflation, and now the budget cuts are being made

Fulda – For years, church tax revenues increased despite declining membership numbers. But now the revenues of the two major churches (37.8 million members) are declining, the forecasts are bleak, and the boom years seem to be over. The German Catholic Bishops' Conference (DBK) is the first to react – with a tough austerity package.

"Ambitious austerity measures" are necessary, the DBK announced on Monday. "Changes must be made for numerous recipients who receive subsidies nationwide through the budget of the Association of German Dioceses (VDD)." At least eight million euros are to be cut – out of a budget of 128 million euros.

Beate Gilles (55), DBK General Secretary and also VDD head: "There will be harsh cuts, which are unavoidable. Our goal is to use the resources available to us with perspective and responsibility for solid future work." Overall, Gilles described her church's "dwindling strength."

First dioceses threatened with extinction

Who is on the austerity list? Citing ongoing discussions, the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) is remaining tight-lipped on this. However, it is reportedly almost certain where the austerity measures will hit – and which flagship projects (e.g., the IFP journalism school) could continue to receive full support.

One thing is clear: In the medium term, things are getting serious. For some time now, the bishops have been discussing how they can still avert the bankruptcy of at least two extremely financially weak East German dioceses.

2024 has, on paper, brought the churches another slight increase (1.7 percent) in church taxes due to sharp wage increases. A total of 12.6 billion euros was allocated, with the Catholic Church receiving 6.62 billion euros and the 20 Protestant regional churches receiving 5.97 billion euros.

► But: Adjusted for inflation (2.2 percent), purchasing power declined – with rising personnel costs. And: Due to their age structure, the churches will probably never reach the record figure of 2022 (6.84 billion euros) again, because the number of resignations and deaths is high – and the affluent baby boomer generation is now reaching retirement age.

Cutbacks are likely to soon affect Protestants as well: "Demands are growing, financial resources are diminishing," said EKD Council President Kirsten Fehrs (63) at the beginning of the year. Now it's time to examine which tasks "will be particularly needed in the future and which no longer need to be performed."

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