Irreligion in Germany

In a time of near-universal adoption of Christianity, Germany was an intellectual centre for European freethought and humanist thinking, whose ideas spread across Europe and the world in the Age of Enlightenment.One early irreligious German philosopher was Ludwig Feuerbach, who developed a theory of anthropological materialism in his book The Essence of Christianity.[1] Christianity still has a notable presence in Western Germany, although the majority of the population in the northern states of Hamburg, Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein are not registered members of the main Catholic and Protestant churches.[13][14] An explanation for this, popular in other regions, is the state atheist policy of the German Democratic Republic's Socialist Unity Party of Germany.[6] A 2017 Pew Research Center survey in Germany found that less Protestants believed in God with absolute certainty than Catholics.
Majority religion according to the 2022 census
Protestant
Catholic
Unaffiliated
Dark: absolute majority (>50%)
Light: relative majority (<50%)
Non-religious population according to the 2011 census (including other religions and not specified)
IrreligionGermanyChristianityfreethoughthumanist thinkingAge of EnlightenmentNazi ruleWorld War IISocialist Unity PartyEast GermanyCold WarsecularisationirreligiousEastern GermanyLudwig Feuerbachanthropological materialismThe Essence of ChristianityKarl MarxFriedrich EngelsJugendweiheLudwig BüchnerGerman Freethinkers LeagueGerman EmpireCatholic ChurchKulturkampfWeimar RepublicconstitutionNazi GermanyGerman reunificationHamburgBremenSchleswig-HolsteinWestern Germanystate atheistGerman Democratic RepublicSocialist Unity Party of GermanySaxony-AnhaltMecklenburg-VorpommernBrandenburgSaxonyThuringiaBerlinLower SaxonyNorth Rhine-WestphaliaBaden-WürttembergBavariaRhineland-PalatinateSaarlandDemographics of GermanyFreedom of religion in GermanyHumanistischer Verband DeutschlandsParty of HumanistsReligion in GermanyRoyle, EdwardGallupSpiegelThe LocalDie WeltIrreligion in Europe AlbaniaAzerbaijanBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCzech RepublicDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGeorgiaHungaryIcelandIrelandKazakhstanLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgMontenegroNetherlandsNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited Kingdom