Verbundenheit, Vertrauen, Austrittsbereitschaft

Why do church members (not) feel a sense of belonging and trust towards the Protestant Church in Germany? This paper conceptualizes the emergence and dynamic change of institutional belonging and trust as a multidimensional interplay of individual religiosity, biography, public discourses, social micro-context, pastoral interactions, and congregational activity. The empirical analysis identifies retention factors that stop members from leaving the church.