Germany: Religious Freedom
Status*
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| 1997
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U.S.
Department of State Human Rights Report 1998
The Basic Law (Constitution) provides for religious freedom, and the
Government respects this right in practice. Most religious organizations
are treated as nonprofit associations and therefore enjoy tax-exempt
status. In order to obtain this status, state-level authorities must
find that the organization operates on a nonprofit basis and contributes
socially, spiritually, or materially to society.
Church and state are separate, although historically a special partnership
exists between the state and those religious communities that have
the status of a "corporation under public law." If they
fulfill certain requirements, including an assurance of permanency
and an indispensable loyalty to the state, organizations may request
that they be granted "public law corporation" status, which,
among other things, entitles them to levy taxes on their members that
are collected by the state for the church. The decision to grant "public
law corporation" status is made at the state level. State governments
also subsidize various institutions affiliated with such public law
corporations, such as schools and hospitals. Most visible among the
denominations and religions that were granted this status are the
Lutheran and Catholic churches and Judaism. Many others also have
been granted such status, including the Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists,
Mennonites, Baptists, Methodist, Christian Scientists, and the Salvation
Army.
The right to provide religious chaplaincies in the military, in hospitals,
and in prisons is not dependent on the public law corporation status
of a religious community. The Ministry of defense is currently looking
into the possibilities for Islamic clergymen to provide religious
services in the military, although none of the many Islamic communities
has the status of a corporation under public law. The right to provide
religious instruction at public schools also is no longer confined
to religious communities with public law corporation status. In November
the Berlin Higher Regional Court ruled that the Islamic Federation
had to be given the opportunity to provide religious instruction in
the Berlin public schools even though it was not a corporation under
public law. The decision drew criticism from the many Islamic organizations
that the Islamic Federation does not represent.
Jehovah's Witnesses are appealing to the Constitutional Court a July
1997 decision of the Berlin state government that had denied the church
public law corporation status. Later in 1997 the Federal Administrative
Court in Berlin upheld the Berlin state government's decision. The
Court concluded that the church did not offer the "indispensable
loyalty" towards the democratic state "essential for lasting
cooperation" because, for example, it forbade its members from
participating in public elections. The church does enjoy the basic
tax-exempt status afforded to most religious organizations.
According to the Christian Community in Cologne (CCK), no incidents
of harassment, discrimination, or death threats have been directed
at CCK members since 1992, with the exception of occasional letters
from a particular individual, whom they describe as harmless. CCK
representatives claimed that the church's current tax difficulties
were due to harassment by local tax authorities. However, they admitted
that the church's tax problems were based on errors made by the church,
although they questioned the motivation of the authorities for scrutinizing
the church's application for extension of tax-exempt status (which
must be renewed every few years, depending on state law). The fact
that the church apparently violated tax law, and the authorities'
voluntary reduction of the church's tax liability, raise questions
about the merit of the CCK's allegations of harassment.
In July the Baden-Wuerttemberg minister of education supported the
decision of the Stuttgart school district not to hire a Muslim woman
for a teaching position in a public school because she wore a traditional
headscarf. The minister took the position that the scarf was a political
symbol of female submission rather than a religious practice prescribed
by Islam. The Minster permitted the woman to conduct the practice
teaching required for her degree, but argued that allowing a state
employee to wear a headscarf on the job would violate the religious
and political neutrality legally required of all civil servants. The
woman concerned announced her intention to appeal the decision in
the court system. While the minister held that the political act of
donning a headscarf was unacceptable for a teacher as a role model,
thousands of Muslim students are free to wear the headscarf in school.
In April in the Frankfurt suburb of Oberursel 100 Turkish families
from a moderate Islamic group made inquiries about converting a building
into a mosque. Local officials rebuffed the suggestion, and the mayor
commented to the press that no mosque would be built in Oberursel
until a Christian church is permitted in Mecca. The refusal polarized
the local Islamic community, and the Hesse Protestant Church's Ombudsman
for foreigners is mediating the dispute. Turkish groups in Stuttgart
also failed to get permission to build a mosque or to convert an existing
building into one.
The Church of Scientology remained under scrutiny by both federal
and state officials who contend that it is not a religion but an economic
enterprise. Authorities sometimes sought to deregister Scientology
organizations previously registered as nonprofit associations and
require them to register as commercial enterprises. In 1997 the Federal
Administrative Court in Berlin, in sending an appeal concerning the
deregistration of a Scientology organization in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg
back to a lower level for further review, declared that a registered
nonprofit association, religious or otherwise, could engage in entrepreneurial
activities as long as these were only supplementary and collateral
to its nonprofit goals. The case continued in the lower court at year's
end.
Some government officials allege that Scientology's goals and methods
are antidemocratic and call for further restrictions on Scientology-affiliated
organizations and individuals. In 1997 authorities of the federal
and state OPC's placed Scientology under observation for a year because
of concerns raised by some offices that there were indications that
Scientology may pose a threat to democracy. Under the observation
decision, OPC officials seek to collect information mostly from written
materials and firsthand accounts to assess whether a "threat"
exists. More intrusive methods would be subject to legal checks and
would require evidence of involvement in treasonous or terrorist activity.
Federal OPC authorities stated that no requests had been made to employ
more intrusive methods, nor were any such requests envisioned. In
November federal and state OPC's agreed to continue the observation
of Scientology, subject to another review in 1999. The decision was
based on an OPC report that concluded that although there was no imminent
danger for the political system or the economy of being infiltrated
by Scientology, there were nevertheless indications of tendencies
within Scientology, supported by its ideology and programmatic goals,
which could be seen as directed against Germany's free and democratic
order. One state, Schleswig-Holstein, did not agree to implement such
observation, on the grounds that the situation did not appear to justify
such measures. Scientology filed a suit in Berlin to enjoin the Berlin
Interior Ministry from the alleged practice of bribing members of
Scientology to "spy" on other members. The case continued
at year's end.
In April officials in Baden-Wuerttemberg posted bail and apologized
to Swiss authorities when one of their police investigators gathering
information on Scientology's activities in Baden-Wuerttemberg was
arrested by Swiss police after interviewing a contact in Basel. The
investigator was charged with espionage and violating Swiss neutrality.
Most major political parties continued to exclude Scientologists from
membership, arguing that Scientology is not a religion but a for-profit
organization whose goals and principles are antidemocratic and thus
incompatible with those of the political parties. However, there has
been only one known instance of enforcement of this ban. In a 1997
ruling a Bonn state court upheld the expulsion of three Scientologists
from a state- level organization of the Christian Democratic Union
party, ruling that a political party had the right to exclude from
its organization those persons who do not identify themselves with
the party's basic goals.
In June the commission established in 1996 to investigate "so-called
sects and psycho- groups," including Scientology, presented its
final report to Parliament. The report concluded that these groups
did not pose a threat to society and state and underlined the constitutional
principle of religious freedom and the state's obligation to observe
strict neutrality in these matters. However, it called upon the Government
to introduce legislation for consumer protection in the "psycho-market"
and highlighted the need for the Government to inform the public about
dangers to health and property posed by psycho-cults and groups. Particular
emphasis was placed on Scientology because it allegedly pursued policies
of "misinformation and intimidation" of its critics, according
to the report. The report did not classify Scientology as a religion,
but as a profit-oriented psycho-group with totalitarian internal structures
and undemocratic goals. The commission contended that there were concrete
indications that Scientology was a political extremist organization,
in German, a "combine with totalitarian tendencies." The
commission also recommended to Parliament that observation of Scientology
continue. The report also recommended that because of its derogatory
connotation the term "sect" should be avoided, and that
instead the designation "new religious and ideological communities
and psycho-groups" be used. The report referred to psycho-groups
as "commercial cults" that offered their services in a fast-growing
psycho-market.
The interministerial group of mid-level federal and state officials
that exchanges information on Scientology-related issues continued
its periodic meetings. The group published no report or policy compendium
during the year and remains purely consultative in purpose.
On June 4, Bavarian interior minister Geunther Beckstein released
two new brochures warning against the Church of Scientology. "The
Scientology System" and "Scientology: An Anti-Constitutional
Movement" warned about alleged hard-sell methods by the church
and asserted that Scientology was striving for world power. Beckstein
asserted that the Church was even ordering the commission of criminal
acts and compared its psychological methods to those of the former
East German secret police. He added that due to government measures,
membership in Germany had dropped to an estimated 10,000 persons.
Scientologists continued to report discrimination, alleging both government-condoned
and societal harassment because of their church affiliation. "Sect-filters,"
statements by individuals that they are not affiliated with Scientology,
are used by some businesses and other organizations to discriminate
against Scientologists in business and social dealings. Scientologists
assert that business firms whose owners or executives are Scientologists,
as well as artists who are church members, faced boycotts and discrimination,
sometimes with state and local government approval. Other church members
reported employment difficulties, and, in the state of Bavaria, applicants
for state civil service positions are screened for Scientology membership.
However, according to Bavarian and federal officials, no one in Bavaria
lost a job, was denied employment, or suffered any infringement of
rights by public officials or entities solely because of association
with Scientology. Bavarian officials also contended that a Scientologist
was teaching in a Munich public school and that another Scientologist
was a member of the Bavarian Ministry of Culture. Several states have
published pamphlets warning of alleged dangers posed by Scientology.
In June foreign professional tennis player Arnaud Boetsch's contract
with the Ruppuer Tennis Club, to represent the club in the German
Championships League, was canceled when the club learned that he was
a Scientologist.
A United Nations report in April agreed that individuals were discriminated
against because of their affiliation with Scientology. However, it
rejected Scientology's comparison of the treatment of its members
with that of Jews during the Nazi era.
In August officials in Frankfurt defended their decision to allow
about 6,000 Scientology members and supporters to hold a demonstration
in the city's Opera Square. Responding to criticism for issuing the
demonstration permit, the officials defended Scientology's freedom
of assembly.
Scientologists continued to take grievances to the courts. Legal rulings
have been mixed. Some individuals who had been fired because they
are Scientologists took their employers to court for "unfair
dismissal." Several have reached out of court settlements with
employers.
Source: Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices for 1998, U.S. Department of State.
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Religious
Freedom in the German Constitution
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