Switzerland - Religions

There is no official state church and religious freedom is guaranteed. However, all of the cantons financially support at least one of three traditional denominations—Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, or Protestant—with money collected through taxes. In all cantons, individuals may choose not to contribute to church taxes. As a result, since the 1990s there has been a trend of individuals formally resigning their church membership in order to avoid church taxation. Reports claim this trend accounts for a membership loss of 1 to 2% for each of the three denominations. Religious denominations as of a 2002 report stood at about 44% Roman Catholic, 47% Protestant, 7%, 4.5% Muslim, and about 1% Orthodox Christians. There are about 17,577 members of the Jewish community and about 11,748 Old Catholics. About 12% of the population claimed no religious affiliation.