Registry offices are registering more people leaving the church than ever before

Created: 03/01/2022, 09:00

In the country as in the city: more and more believers are leaving the church.

The photo shows the church of St. Johann Baptist in Holzhausen (municipality of Münsing).

© Hans Lippert

The trend continues: Due to the current large number of people leaving the church, the registry offices in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen have their hands full.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen – The number of people leaving the church is still high.

After the publication of the report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church at the end of January, there was a flood of resignations in the district, as reported.

The registry offices of the cities and communities responsible for de-registration can already say: so many citizens as in 2022 have probably never turned their backs on the church.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen: Registry offices have to process many church exits

"Our registry office has above-average bookings," reports Thomas Loibl, spokesman for the city of Geretsried, when asked by our newspaper.

You have to make an appointment there in advance.

By February 18, the registry office for Geretsried recorded 29 people leaving the Catholic Church and seven from the Protestant Church.

In Dietramszell there were four (zero Protestant), in Icking eight (zero Protestant), in Königsdorf three (one Protestant) and in Münsing eight (zero Protestant).

So it's not the case that believers in the country are more reluctant to take the step than in the city.

Johanna Deißer, registrar in Egling, has issued 27 exit certificates so far.

"This is very much.

In all of 2021 it was 57,” she says.

However, not everyone turned away from the church this year because of the abuse scandal.

After Holy Epiphany, a first momentum had come.

Because of the corona pandemic and the associated distance rules, the carol singers had to collect the collection with a two-meter-long stick at the front doors.

That bothered many.

In general, the exercise of faith is severely restricted by Corona, citizens have complained to her, says Deißer.

"The lying and covering up has been the final straw for many."

According to Helmut Potstada, 39 women and men have come to the registry office in Lenggries since the beginning of the year to deregister from the Catholic Church and thus no longer pay church tax.

"It used to be between 50 and 60 over the year," explains the registrar.

Last year, however, there were already 100.

Potstada says: "If things continue like this, I'm counting on around 200 for this year." The majority give the abuse and how to deal with it as a reason in the conversation - even if nobody is obliged to justify their decision.

"The lying and covering up has been the final straw for many."

According to town hall spokeswoman Birte Otterbach, there were 151 resignations in Bad Tölz in the entire registry office district, including the communities of Wackersberg, Bichl, Benediktbeuern and Bad Heilbrunn.

For comparison: at the end of February 2021 there were 31. Overall, the situation has calmed down a bit, says Otterbach.

There would always be a few people willing to leave.

There is no backlog of appointments, as you can declare your departure during normal opening hours without an appointment.

In Wolfratshausen, the number of people leaving the church is still high, appointments are still being processed and new ones are being assigned, reports the employee responsible, Michael Nussbaumer, when asked.

By the way: everything from the region is also available in our regular Wolfratshausen-Geretsried newsletter.