Eastern Germans Report Widespread Atheism

A 2012 study titled "Beliefs About God Across Time and Countries" found no respondent under age 28 in eastern Germany who said they believed in God. The same research found that 52.1% of eastern German respondents identified as atheists, compared with 10.3% in western Germany. Communist East Germany had promoted atheism and created secular traditions such as Jugendweihe, a coming-of-age ceremony that continued after German reunification.

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