What's next for the church? You can now watch the whole episode in the ARD Mediathek: https://1.ard.de/rabiat_by_y_kollekti... --------- Who still believes in God today? Due to the lack of innovation and the recurring abuse scandals, many Germans have lost faith in the church. More than half a million Germans left the Catholic Church in 2022. Young people in particular can no longer do much with religion and the church: Too outdated, with dusty rules and structures. But not all young people feel this way. Rabiat reporter Katja speaks to young people who are still firmly anchored in their faith. In free churches or in nunneries they find support, hope and security in times of crisis. Daniel and Isi are members of a #freechurch: The young members are picked up with Christian pop, light shows and conservative values. No sex before marriage and the propagation of heterosexual relationships are on the agenda. A blessing for Daniel: Before his marriage to Isi, he led a wild, daredevil life. With fights, drugs, and sex. Until God "saved" him. Today he is happily married and leads a Christian life. The concept of free churches seems to attract many: In recent years, membership numbers have increased. In stark contrast to the Catholic Church, where more and more people are leaving the church and members are getting older. Like with Sister Luzia in the Franciscan monastery. Her fellow sisters are on average over 80 years old. Meanwhile, Luzia, at 29, is one of the few who has chosen the path of a nun. What motivates such a young woman to choose a life in a monastery? Why are young people today still so convinced of God? How do they live out their faith? --------- Author: Katja Döhne Editing: Michael Stragies Camera: Christian Weihe, Sven Bender CvD: Alexander Tieg --------- Music used: OneRepublic Secrets // Clueso Rollercoaster // Naughty Boy feat. Sam Smith La La La // OK Kid It's February again (Instrumental) // Massive Attack Paradise Circus // Coldplay Something Just Like This (Instrumental) // Kaleo Way down we go (Instrumental) // Kontra K Good night (Instrumental) --------- ► Further information and sources: Tagesschau: More than 500,000 people leave the Catholic Church https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/kirc... NZZ: With an electric guitar and a Bible: How evangelicals remain a force despite secularization https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/mit-e-gita... BR24: Churches - loss of members has consequences https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutsch... Correctiv: Megachurch Hillsong: The business of faith https://correctiv.org/aktuelles/wirts... br: Faith and science - how do they go together? https://www.br.de/nachrichten/kultur/... Deutschlandfunk: Goodbye Christianity https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/ade-ch... --------- We are the Y-Kollektiv - a network of young journalists. In our web reports we show the world as we experience it. We make research transparent. ► All films in the #ARDMediathek: https://www.ardmediathek.de/y-kollektiv ► You can subscribe to us here: https://www.youtube.com/@ykollektiv/f... ► Y-ZWEI: https://www.youtube.com/@y-zwei/featured ► INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/y_kollektiv... ► FACEBOOK: / ykollektiv ► Y-KOLLEKTIV PODCAST: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/sendung/y... --------- A production of sendefähig GmbH // http://sendefaehig.com // / sendefaehig