Church in Germany and 3.4% of the Catholic Church. Following the Reformation, led in Germany by Martin Luther, as well as a period of Swedish rule, the traditional faith in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is Protestantism, specifically Lutheranism. There are also a number of Catholics and people of other faiths. In May 2012 the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg merged with North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church and Pomeranian Evangelical Church into the new Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. Some parishes of the state belong to Evangelical Church of Berlin and Brandenburg. There are also Jewish communities, in the state capital of Schwerin (including Wismar) and in the city of Rostock. Historically, there were also synagogues in smaller towns, of which some are still preserved (like Röbel, Krakow am See and Boizenburg). The state's Jewish organisation is part of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Immigration Largest immigrant communities: Vital statistics Births from January to September 2016 = 10,224 Births from January to September 2017 = 9,836 Deaths from January to September 2016 = 15,251 Deaths from January to September 2017 = 15,532 Natural growth from January to September 2016 = 5,027 Natural growth from January to September 2017 = 5,696 Education Universities and colleges Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has the two oldest universities of the Baltic Sea region, also among the oldest of Germany and all of Europe: University of Greifswald (established 1456) University of Rostock (established 1419) Also, there are further colleges / technological universities: Fachhochschule des Mittelstands (FHM) in Rostock and Schwerin (private) Rostock University of Music and Theatre Hochschule Wismar (University of Applied Sciences: Technology, Business and Design) Fachhochschule Stralsund (University of Applied Sciences) Hochschule Neubrandenburg (University of Applied Sciences) Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung, Rechtspflege und Polizei Güstrow (University of Administration, Judicature and Police in Güstrow) Hochschule der Bundesagentur für Arbeit with its Schwerin campus DesignSchule Schwerin with options to study design (private; game/fashion/media/web design) Schools The state's school system is centralised. There are two main types of schools, Regionalschule (for the majority of pupils) and Gymnasium (for the top 30% of each year's students, leading to the university entrance qualification "Abitur"). Besides, there are also independent schools, comprehensive schools and trade schools. Politics Article 20 of the State Constitution states that the Landtag is the "site of political decision-making". The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Landtag is elected democratically by the citizens of the state and sits for a 5-year legislative period. The seat