Many Residents Choose to Apostatise to Avoid Tax

Switzerland is one of the countries with the highest tax rates in the world. One type of tax applicable there is the church tax, which has led some people to become atheists in order to avoid the levy. Depending on the canton or province of residence, this tax is mandatory for anyone registered as a member of a church recognised by the state. The amount varies, from 1% to 3%. The only way to avoid paying this tax is to leave the church. According to local media Le News, in 2023 67,497 people left the Catholic Church in Switzerland. The figure was almost double that of 2022. For the Protestant Church, around 39,517 people officially left the church in the same year. In total, around 100,000 people left the church in 2023. Data from the Swiss Institute of Pastoral Sociology (SPI) shows that the province with the highest church defection is Basel-Stadt at 4.5%. The northern Swiss province has a system of ‘ceasing church membership’ which allows people not to pay church tax. Although official data does not always state why people leave the church, statistics show that in provinces where church tax exists, the share of people leaving Christ tends to be higher, according to Religion Watch. Besides the tax, other reasons that drive people to leave the church include secularism and scandals in church communities. Surveys and demographic data indicate an increasing number of Swiss identifying themselves as atheists (around 34% of the population in 2022). This figure shows many people are genuinely disengaging from religion, regardless of the tax or not.