Get Religion blog
Nov. 5, 2019
By Terry Mattingly
When it comes to Catholic demographics — think birth rate, membership and new clergy — researchers know where to look if they want to find the good news and the bad news.
It you are seeking new life and growth, all roads lead to Africa — where the Catholic population has grown by nearly 250% since 1980.
Anyone seeking bad news can examine trends in Europe.
Take Germany, for example. The Catholic church lost 216,078 members in 2018, according to the German Bishops’ Conference. Researchers at the University of Freiburg predict that Catholic membership totals will fall another 50% by 2060. How is the priesthood doing? Things were already pretty bad in 2005, with 122 diocesan priests ordained in Germany. That number fell to 58 in 2015.
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