Nearly half German Catholics want Protestant merger: Poll

A survey, commissioned by the Protestant news service IDEA, found that almost one in three Germans overall favoured such a union.

The survey was carried out from October 23 to 26, and the results were published on October 28. The survey asked respondents: “What do you think of the following statement? The Protestant and Catholic churches should unite.” The research institute INSA-Consulere surveyed 2010 German citizens online, representative of the adult population in the country as well as by gender, age and region. Twenty-eight per cent of respondents answered “don’t know” and seven per cent did not provide an answer.

IDEA noted that, among Germany’s Christian denominations, Catholics “expressed this desire particularly frequently”.

“Among the members of the Christian denominations, Catholics most often want the two major churches to unite (44 per cent in favour, 30 per cent against),” it stated.

Catholics outnumber Protestants in Germany by just under two million, with approximately 19.2 million Catholics and 17.4 million Protestants. About 1.3 million of the country’s Catholics attend Sunday Mass.

Overall, the report found that 31 per cent of Germans supported a denominational merge, with 34 per cent opposed. Women were more likely than men to support the statement, at 33 per cent compared to 29 per cent. West Germans were also more supportive than East Germans, at 33 per cent compared to 24 per cent.

FULL STORY

Poll finds 44 per cent of German Catholics back union with Protestants (By Corrie Douglas-Young/Catholic Herald – registration required)