Religion

Germany was the homeland of the Protestant Reformation, but in the politically fragmented Holy Roman Empire of the sixteenth century, many territories remained faithful to Roman Catholicism or reverted back to it, depending of the policy of the ruling house. Today, 34% percent of the population belongs to the Protestant Church and a further 34% belongs to the Catholic Church. Many Germans have no religious affiliation. This is especially true of former East Germany, where, in 1989, the Evangelical Church had 4 million members and the Catholic Church had only 921,000 members. Since 1990, the Evangelical Church has lost even more members in the new federal states