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SpiritualityThe Swiss no longer believe in religion too much
There are only 38% of the population who believes in one God. And religious practices are less and less popular.
Almost half of the population says that I have never attended a religious demonstration or a religious service in the last twelve months.
AFPIn Switzerland, fewer and fewer people belong to a religion. And among people with religious affiliation, the share of those who believe in God decreases. This is revealed by the first results of the survey on language, religion and culture carried out by the Federal Statistics Office (FSA).
The share of the population with religious practices also continues to be reduced in the context of increasing secularization. Fewer and fewer people attend religious services, follow religious or spiritual demonstrations on radio, television or on the Internet, or take the time to pray or read religious books regularly.
Deserted religious services
While in 2014, almost a third of the population had never attended a religious demonstration or a religious service during the twelve months preceding the survey, it was the case for almost half of the population in 2024. Regular reading of books, magazines or articles on the Internet dealing with spirituality has become generally more popular in the last ten years (from 13 to 20%).
The proportion of the population who believes in God continues to decrease. In 2014, 46% of those questioned believed in one God, against 38% in 2024. The decline was particularly marked in people aged 65 or over (-14%), the proportion of believers hardly changed among those under 25.
At the same time, the share of people who do not believe in a god or in several, or who doubt the existence of one or more gods has increased, including within the population of Roman or reformed Catholic confession (passing from 20 to 26% and 23 to 32% respectively.
An appeal in difficult situations
Religion or spirituality, however, continues to play a rather important, even very important role, in the difficult times of life and in the event of illness for the majority of the population (respectively for 56 and 52%). It occupies an important place for almost half of those questioned (and even 55% of those aged 65 or over) in their way of perceiving the environment and for 45% of parents in the education of their children.
More than a fifth of the population interviewed believes that religion or spirituality has a rather important, even very important influence, on its eating habits. In all these contexts, religion or spirituality generally plays more an important role for women than for men.
