Swiss Citizens Leaving Churches En Masse to Avoid Church Tax

Tax is a source of state revenue that must be paid by income-earning citizens. However, high tax rates in some countries have spawned various avoidance strategies, even prompting citizens to leave their officially recognised religion. This phenomenon is occurring in Switzerland. The country, known for its high-tax system, is now facing a rising trend of citizens leaving the church to avoid paying the church tax. The church tax in Switzerland is levied on citizens registered as members of a state-recognised church. The amount varies depending on the region and income, generally around 1-3% of earnings. The only way to be exempt from this levy is to officially resign from church membership. As a result, the number of citizens choosing to leave the church has surged sharply in recent years. According to a report by local media outlet Le News, 67,497 people left the Catholic Church in Switzerland during 2023. That figure is nearly double the previous year’s number. Meanwhile, around 39,517 citizens officially left the Protestant church in the same period. Combined, nearly 100,000 people left the church throughout 2023. Data from the Swiss Pastoral Sociology Institute (SPI) shows the region with the highest resignation rate is Basel-Stadt, a province in northern Switzerland. The percentage of citizens leaving the church in that region reached 4.5%. Basel-Stadt is known to have an administrative system that allows citizens to officially terminate church membership so they are no longer obliged to pay church tax. Although official data does not always explain the reasons citizens leave the church, a Religion Watch report notes that resignation rates tend to be higher in regions that impose a church tax. Besides the tax factor, the trend of secularism and various scandals within places of worship are also cited as drivers of the increasing number of citizens leaving religion. The latest demographic surveys even show that more Swiss citizens are identifying as atheists. In 2022, their number was estimated to reach around 34% of the population, reflecting a major change in the country’s social and religious landscape.