Leaving the church: All the information at a glance

If you leave the church, this has various advantages and disadvantages. We gave you an overview in this practical tip!

Procedure: leaving the church declared

If you want to leave the church, you must report this. We have summarised where and what documents you need:

• You first report in person to a notary or to the registry office in your place of residence with the request that you want to leave the church.

• You will pay a fee of 25 or 35 euros to leave the church. Leaving costs 25 euros, while a certificate for it costs 10 euros.

• Bring a valid identity card or your valid passport as proof of identity. If you are married or divorced, you will also need your family book.

The office will then automatically inform the relevant tax office that you have left the church.
• Your resignation will take effect on the first of the next month.

What happens when I leave the church? The advantages and disadvantages

There are some advantages to leaving the church, but there may also be disadvantages. However, many of the disadvantages are more relevant if you are a person of faith considering leaving the church.

• Tax savings: After leaving the church, you save yourself 8 or 9 percent of your income tax, which was previously collected as church tax. This means, for example, that on a gross salary of 28,000 euros you save almost 300 euros a year.
• Question of conscience: The church earns many billions of euros a year from taxes. However, many church members are not happy with how the money is used. By leaving the church, you take a personal stand on this – both as a believer and as an atheist.
• Baptism: Children whose parents have both left the church can only be baptised under certain conditions. For this, you must find a Christian who accepts the child into the community of the church and accompanies it in this. You yourself are then no longer entitled to become a godparent to another child.
• Communion and Confirmation: If your child cannot be baptised due to a lack of godparents, the possibility of a communion and a subsequent confirmation also lapses.
• Wedding: After leaving the church, you can get married in a civil ceremony, but no longer in church.
• Termination in church institutions: If you are an employee of a church institution or your employer is under church sponsorship, you may be terminated by resigning.
• Funeral: If a pastor is to give the eulogy, this must be paid for by the relatives. For church members, on the other hand, this happens for free.
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