2023-06-23 01:39:13
Switzerland, a country that was one of the epicenters of the Protestant Reformation, is becoming a society averse to the faith, according to a survey report that has just been released.
The Federal Statistical Office produced a study with data from 2021 and released this month pointing out that non-religious people are almost becoming the largest group among the country’s inhabitants.
The Swiss who do not identify with a particular religion already represent 32.3% of the population. In 1970, they were only 1.2%; in 2000, this group represented 11.4%. In the past two decades, that number has tripled.
the reformers John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli marked the history of Switzerland in the decades following the beginning of the movement unleashed by Martin Luther in Germany. Calvin, exiled from France, was the biggest name in a team of other reformers who found a welcome in the country.
Now, five centuries later, the people of Switzerland are abandoning the faith. Among those who say they are non-religious, 38% claim to be atheists and another 20% as agnostics. However, 30% of non-religious people admit to believing in some kind of higher power.
Decline of churches
According to information from Evangelical Focusthe data show that Catholics lost 5.7% of supporters between 2010 and 2021 – they were 38.6% of the population and now add up to 32.9%.
The same trend was registered among Protestants and/or Reformed: they were 28% in 2010 and now they are 21.1%.
Prosperous Swiss society is showing signs of explicitly abandoning the faith: some 40% of Reformed Protestants and 30% of Roman Catholics say they never pray.
Half of leading Reformed Protestants attend fewer than 5 services a year. Among Roman Catholics, the most common frequency is slightly higher: they go to church once every one to two months, which varies between 6 and 12 Mass attendances.
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