Original sentence: 18.8% of the population adheres to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, and their number has also declined since 1970.24% of Bavarians are irreligious or adhere to other religions.50.5% of Bavarians adhered to Catholicism (a decline from 70.4% in 1970)
Edited sentence: 18.8% of the population adheres to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, and their number is declining too.24% of Bavarians are irreligious or adhere to other religions, and this number is increasing.50.5% of Bavarians adhered to Catholicism but the number is on the decline (they were 70.4% in 1970, 56.3% in 2007)