Religion in Germany

March 18, 2015 · updated December 18, 2023

Trier Cathedral Facade at Sunset
Romanesque west facade aglow at sunset. Trier Cathedral, Germany. Holly Hayes
Fast Facts on Germany
Population 79,903,481 2021
Religions (%) Roman Catholic 27.7%, Protestant 25.5%, Muslim 5.1%, Orthodox 1.9%, other Christian 1.1%, other .9%, none 37.8%
Christianity 53,190,000 2020
Unaffiliated 21,150,000 2020
Islam 5,530,000 2020
Buddhism 230,000 2020
Judaism 220,000 2020
Other Religions 100,000 2020
Hinduism 80,000 2020
Indigenous/Folk Religions 40,000 2020

The dominant religion in Germany has been Christianity since the early Middle Ages, when the region was the heart of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 16th century, the nation was the center of the Protestant Reformation, led by Martin Luther.

Today, Christian Germany is about half Roman Catholic and half Protestant, with Catholicism having a slight majority as of 2018. But even more Germans identify as nonreligious or unaffiliated than as Christian.

Islam is on the rise in Germany, like elsewhere in Europe, and is expected to grow even more in the near future.