Most Swiss Christians don’t believe story behind Easter

Almost two-thirds of Swiss Christians who took part in a survey do not think the Resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact. Three-quarters of the population as a whole don’t believe it, up from two-thirds in 2007. 

In addition, a third of respondents in French-speaking Switzerland said they didn’t know the meaning of Easter, according to a survey of 1,031 people published on Tuesday by two faith organisations, the Swiss Evangelical Alliance and Alliance Presse. 

Women were more likely not to know than men, the study said. 

Religious belief in Switzerland has been dwindling for many years. Data from the Federal Statistical Office in 2018 showed that the percentage of Swiss residents without a religious faith had more than doubled to around 25% since 2000. Christianity was on the decline and followers of Islam were increasing gradually. 

Despite this, a number of long-held Easter traditions in Switzerland are being revived, changed or invented from scratch, while others have died out completely.