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5 Consequences of leaving the church nationwide

Are you thinking about leaving the church? No matter how you came to this decision, there are some aspects to consider.

In this post you will learn 5 important Consequencesthat you should urgently consider if you want to buy a Church exit Switzerland-wide. Should you stick to your decision, there is a Church Exit Template for download. In addition, there is some food for thought on what you can do with the saved church taxes.

Let's start directly with important aspects and the church leaving consequences.

Table of contents

5 important church leaving consequences

  1. Godfather or godmother after leaving the church will no longer be possible depending on the competent diocese. Depending on the parish, a conversation can help to clarify the situation.
  2. If you Godfather or Confirmation sponsor If you want to become a baptismal witness, it is also difficult depending on the diocese. For example, in the diocese of Basel you can become a "baptismal witness" or a "confirmation witness".
  3. A church Funeral with burial and abdication are now only possible for a fee. The burial itself is arranged by the municipality of residence. So you don't have to worry that you won't have a place left on the Cemetery receives.
  4. A church wedding for a non-denominational couple will no longer be possible free of charge. If only one partner has left the church, a conversation with the pastor can make the church wedding possible.
  5. When you leave the church, your Children Church members. They would have to resign themselves if this is desired. Children can leave the church independently after the age of 16. Before the 16. year of life parents must sign for it.

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Procedure Church Leaving Submit Form Correctly

You must notify your parish in writing when you leave the church. A letter is sufficient for this, since there is no specific requirement for a form.

Be sure to use the correct address of your church's governing authority. The Date of your departure from the church is the date on which your Writing at the Parish arrives. A Registered mail can therefore help, but is not mandatory.

If your municipality requires the signature to be notarized, you can do this at the office. A Justification to leave the church you must not specify.

Once your exit from the church is successfully completed, your parish will confirm the exit to the associated Residents' Office.

Church Leaving Template Free Download

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Whether you are Roman Catholic or Protestant Reformed, we have prepared two Church Leaving Switzerland templates for you to leave the church. You can customize the Word templates with your data and then send them to the appropriate church.

Here you get the free Templates.

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Conclusion

If you want to leave the church, you can do this very easily. However, consider the consequences, for example, if you have children of your own or want to become a godfather or godmother.

If you leave the church, think about what you will do with the money you save. You can, for example, look for another charitable institution, donate to it and deduct the donations from your taxes.

Which organization would you support first as an alternative or in addition to the church? Feel free to leave a comment!

FAQ

Yes, this is still allowed.

In the Catholic and Reformed churches, this may be possible after consultation with the pastor.

As a withholding taxpayer, you must communicate your departure from the church not only to the church, but also to the tax office of your employer. Your employer will forward your resignation to the tax office. Therefore, you cannot leave the church without the knowledge of your employer.

Here is a Article on the use of church taxes.

Be sure to follow your local church's guidelines, address your letters correctly, and use certified mail if necessary. 

3 responses

  1. Unfortunately, there is no central deregistration option from the church, there are somehow more than 1000 parishes and depending on the canton it can be different. I (already left) find these tips useful

    It's a joke that you have to write to the church to change your denomination at the residents' registration office, and you'd think that in the 21st century you'd be able to change that at some point directly at the municipal counter.

    Reply

  2. I left the church many years ago,
    I am happy to donate to the foundation of the Zurich Children's Hospital, the Eleonorenstiftung, where the money is well invested.

    Reply
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