Same goes for Sweden, and churches should have to pay tax.

Me too. It was my first day on the job in Munich 1972. They asked me what religion I was. I said "none" (thinking I might be fired before I had even started. She said "okay you don't pay church tax" phew

All churches should be taxed. they are a business. grrr

The degree of religiosity in most European countries is much less than it is in the USA. Tithing is not a widely acdepted idea in Europe. If if were not for the Kirchen Steurn, most churches in Germany would do bankrupt.

Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, are the other states having a church tax provision. Those are also the happiest countries in the world. Is there a connection?

A church tax should not be the default. It should be an opt in, not an opt out. Nobody should originally be ordered to pay a tax to churches. Churches already enjoy paying no income tax etc. Why should people be forced to pay them a tax for membership? Churches are getting double the benefit. They are no government authority that provide benefits to citizens for their taxes. They are turning something that was supposed to be open to all (especially the poor) to a membership with a tax, and basically something that mixes with government. Not a good idea.

Must ask my friend living in Germany about this. He's agnostic, think his wife is too. He's not German, so the explanations always have a outsiders perspective to them

A Church Tax with a provision for non-believers to opt out sounds like a workable plan in a different society. I would rather see a tax on churches and their properties and employees. Taxing churches at a equal and flat rate ultimately paid for by the believers seems more fair than allowing them to run as vehicles to make pastors with millions of dollars.

I sense a disconnect here. In Germany, everybody has a Personalausweis, a peronal ID form, which contains all information about you.When I was a young girl, it was in the form of a small book, like an American passport. Every person had to carry thius ID all the time. The police would stop us when we were out on the street , asking for identification. You could be held for 24 hours , or until you produced your ID.
When I emigrated to the USA, there was talk about containing all that info on a chip to imprint on a card. Not sure if that happened, or if the chip is now implanted in German's body somewhere.
Do you see, that declaring one's affiliation with a church ( there are only two Catholic and Protestant) seems like a never mind trivialiity as compared to all the other stuff.

I’m against it, but what do I know?

By opted out, you meant what?

When I was there I would go to a local church and they even had the nerve to pass the basket around. A neighbor told me that the tax was not an annual thing but it also included one's property. He said that is why there are so many nones in Germany. This was a holdover from a deal between Hitler and Pius XII.

First, I have a problem with the government keeping lists of members of religious groups. That employers can view those lists is appalling, but not as bad as it being in government hands.

I disagree vehemently with having government employees collect money for any religious organization. They should be collecting tax money from churches.

Separation of church and state is not negotiable!