Skip to content

Kirchenaustrittswelle

wave of church departures

noun KIR-khen-ows-trits-vel-le Rare
People & Society Religion

Also means

mass exit from the church

Usage Note

Kirchenaustrittswelle describes a period of unusually high numbers leaving a church denomination, often triggered by a scandal. Germany experienced such waves following clerical abuse revelations in 2010 and subsequent years.

Examples

"Die Kirchenaustrittswelle nach dem Missbrauchsbericht war historisch einmalig."

Natural Translation

The wave of church departures following the abuse report was historically unprecedented.

Literal Translation

The church-exit-wave after the abuse-report was historically once-only.

Explore German by topic