“Every Fourth or Fifth Church”: Germany Could Lose 10,000 Church Buildings by 2033

• 603 Catholic churches and 444 Protestant places of worship in Germany have been deconsecrated or closed
• An architecture professor says one in four or five churches will lose their original use by 2033
• The two churches lost about 1.2 million members between them in 2023
• Maintenance in Bavaria alone costs more than 100 million euros a year

Germany’s Catholic and Protestant churches could close as many as 10,000 buildings over the next decade, Evangelical Focus reported in September 2024, drawing on the Süddeutsche Zeitung and Pro Medien Magazin.

According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, 603 Roman Catholic churches have already been deconsecrated, and 444 Protestant places of worship have been closed or demolished. Architecture professor Stefanie Lieb projects that by 2033 “every fourth or fifth church [building] will no longer be used for its original purpose”, which could affect about 10,000 buildings.

The reason is steep membership decline. The Catholic Church lost 628,000 members in 2023 and the Protestant churches 593,000, through people leaving, deaths and fewer infant baptisms. Because German churches depend on church tax paid by members, revenue falls with membership. In Bavaria alone, maintaining church buildings costs more than 100 million euros a year. As early as 2006, the Diocese of Essen said it could no longer finance a third of its buildings.

New owners are turning closed churches into restaurants, fitness centres and shops.

Germany shows what happens when church income is tied directly to membership and the buildings outlast the congregations. In Jamaica, churches are growing in some places and shrinking in others, and many historic buildings depend on small, ageing congregations. Planning ahead, by pooling congregations, sharing buildings, or finding community or commercial uses before a building falls into disrepair, can protect both heritage and finances. For investors, Europe’s surplus churches show that the market for converted religious buildings is growing.

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