Religion

"The freedom of faith, of conscience, and the freedom of religious and ideological beliefs are inviolable." (Art. 4: 1 Basic Law)

The most prevalent religions in Germany are the Protestant and Catholic Churches with respectively around 28 million members. Muslims make up the next largest group with around 3 million members. The vast majority of Muslims are Sunni. Shiites and Alevites form a much smaller group. Jews make up the third largest religious community in Germany.

Other faiths found in Germany are Orthodox Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Baha’i. There are more than 160 different religious communities in Germany. The holy days of Muslim, Jewish and other minority religious groups, such as the Islamic Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha or the Jewish Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are not public holidays in Germany.