Freedom of religion in Germany

Separation_of_church_and_state#Germany

Legal dimension

In Germany, article 4 of the Grundgesetz states that "the freedom of religion, conscience and the freedom of confessing one's religious or philosophical beliefs are inviolable. Uninfringed religious practice is guaranteed."

This means one may adopt any kind of religious or non-religious belief (as long as it does not collide with the core value of human dignity), practize it in private or in public, confess it or keep it for oneself. Theroretically, the state does not identify with any religious organization. In practice, however, freedom of religion in Germany is sort of "limping", as, in Germany, the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelic Lutheran Church enjoy some sort of state patronizing, out of reasons of history and tradition. Still, many Germans equal being Roman Catholic or Evangelic Lutheran Church with "being Christian", and, when a German refers to "the Church" or "the Churches", it is generally those two organization he talks about.

In Germany, the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelic Lutheran Church are the only religious organizations which are granted the status of a body of public law, meaning, e. g., that they may have program time in public TV, teach religious education as a regular class in state schools, and have their contributions collected by state authorities on a legal basis. Germans who are members of the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelic Lutheran Church pay the Kirchensteuer ("church tax") from their regular income, while Germans who are members of other or no religious organisations are not legally obliged to pay the "church tax". Children who do not want to take the obligatory class in religious education must take an ersatz class which is called "ethics" and in which various issues of philosophy, society and morals are discussed.

This system has led to conflicts with the arrival of new religious movements, but also with minority religions and with Islam. Other organisations than the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelic Lutheran Church are practically hindered to become a body of public law. Since the 1990s, German courts have denied the request of the Jehova's Witnesses for various reasons, one of them that the Jehovah's Witnesses would discurage their members from taking part in state elections and would not respect the Grundgesetz. Another famous decision is the so-called Crucifix Decision of the German Supreme Court (1995), which says that it is illegal to have Christian crosses in elementary schools in [mainly Catholic and rather traditional] Bavaria. In the 1950s, a German Jew had already complained succesfully that his freedom of religious was violated by the obligation to speak in a German courtroom which was decorated by a cross. In 2004, the German Supreme court denied a Muslim teacher the right to wear a headscarf in class, on the basis that she had to represent neutrality. (In Germany, teachers are state-appointed and thus are generally considered "representatives of the state").

In Germany, men may refuse military service on the basis of art. 4 III Grundgesetz if you are able to credibly explain to a commission that your personal conscience unconditionally forbids you to kill; you have to take civil service instead. Jehovah's Witnesses, who refuse both military service and civil service, are obliged to render service in a hospital or a similar institution on the basis of a private working contract. Despite the (positive) state-patronizing of the "Churches", there have been very few cases in which the freedom of religious and non-religious belief has actually been infringed. In Germany, the freedom of religious and non-religious belief is guarantied in "balance" with the other values of the Grundgesetz, namely, with human dignity. For example, a member of a religion which propagates cannibalism could not base a cannibalistic practice on his freedom of religious and non-religious belief, as this religion requires the killing of humans, which is not permissible from the point of human dignity. Problem fields of this are Satanism and neo-Pagan religion (which may be linked to Neo-Nazism) but as those groups are minor and rather loosely organized, they have been of little importance as far as the freedom of religion had to be defended in court.

Social and Church-related dimension

About Sekten

Rather, the problem in Germany is about moral pressure. As the "Churches" are influential they have great potential to inform about other religious groups. In public opinion, minor religious groups are often referred to as Sekten, which is a problem as the word Sekte means destructive cult but may also be used to refer to all religious movements which are not Christian or different from the Roman Catholic and the Evangelical Lutheran doctrine. When classifying religious groups, the Roman Catholic and the Evangelical Lutheran Church use a three-step of "Churches", "free-churches" and Sekten.

1. Kirchen (churches) is the term the Roman Catholic and the Evangelical Lutheran Church apply to themselves
2. Freikirchen (free-churches) is the term the Roman Catholic and the Evangelical Lutheran Church apply to Christian organisations whose doctrine is not quite the same as that of the "Churches" but is still somewhat similar. Examples of Freikirchen are Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists etc.
3. Sekten is a rather vague term which may be applied to minority religions, new religious movements or almost any group which is not (1) or (2). Sekten may but are not necessarily totalitarian religious movements. Examples of Sekten are Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, the Bahai, Scientology and Hare Krishna.

Every Landeskirche (unit of a Kirche whose canonical jurisdiction extends over one or several states, or Länder) has a Sektenbeauftragte (Sekten referee) where information about Kirchen, Freikirchen and Sekten may be obtained.

Public opinion in Germany has rather strong resentment against Sekten. The German government also provides information about Sekten. The official term here is sogenannte Jugendsekten, as the relevant religious groups are claimed to be especially appealing to the youth.

The main point of critics against Sekten from the governmental side is that they propagate a concept of the ideal human (Menschenbild) which is very different of the concept underlying the Grundgesetz. For example, totalitarian religious movements may stress the inequality of social groups, races or sexes and foster a culture where blind obedience and fundamentalism are welcomed. The Grundgesetz, however, says that all people are equal and envisages people who are open-minded, discerning and tolerant.

About Islam

Islam in Germany generally is not considered a Sekte but has largely developed or stressed traits which may be found in Sekten too. For example, certain Muslims may believe in the inferiority of women, and may claim that treating women poorly is an issue of their religion. The problem has been worsened as Muslim immigrants have not been given the necessary help to participate in the German society and have been ghettoized; it has also been worsened by courts that are unable or unwilling understand the situation. The claim for absoluteness inherent in Islam poses a challenge to the constitution and to its underlying democratic values. Examples of this conflict are "representatives of the state" (teachers, judges, police officers) wearing headscarves [forbidden]; private employees wearing headscarves [allowed but often not tolerated], forced marriages, polygamy [forbidden for Germans, a polygamist cannot become a German citizen], female genital mutilation [forbidden], religiously ritualized slaughtering of animals [allowed], girls "excused" from school activities [allowed], noises levels of calls-to-prayer and heights of minarets [depending on the circumstances]. Certain Muslims who have grown up in Germany have gotten used to greater extents of personal freedom in the host society and request the full extent of constitutionally guaranteed civil rights. Others segregate from the host society, claiming that the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion allows them to do so.

Miscellanous issues

Various facts on freedom of religion in Germany

• In the Federal Republic of Germany, broadcasting is under the jurisdiction of the states (Länder), which, together, pass a state treaty on broadcasting (Rundfunkstaatsvertrag), which must be respected by all public and private broadcasters. The states form a council on broadcasting (Rundfunkrat), which includes representatives of the Länder, of various institutions, and of the Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran Churches.

• The Rundfunkstaatsvertrag allows the broadcasting of "traditional" services of the Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran Churches; Hour of Power-like preaching shows, however, are not allowed

• Each Friday, there is a 15-minute Jewish Sabbath broadcast on public radio

• In ..., the Rundfunkrat banned TV adverts for the Christian book "Power for Living" featuring celebrities Cliff Richard and Bernhard Langer, on the reason that advertising for religious material on TV commercials was "indecent"; "Power for Living" posters, newspaper adverts and leaflets, however, did not get banned

• German courts regularly hold that Muslim parents who exclude their daughters from class trips, sports and swimming classes make acceptable use of their freedom of religion; however, when a Christian mother requested the same for her daughter, the courts said that this was "odd"

• In Germany, high school students are not excused from classes on sexual education and evolution theory on the basis of religion

• By court decision, Scientology has been excluded from the protection of art. 4 GG; it is considered "an organisation pursuing commercial interests"

• in ... it was held that the German government is allowed to publish information material on so-called youth sects or cults despite protests of Transcendental Meditation

• German courts held that transfusing blood to an unconscious Jehovah's Witness violated the person's will but did not constitute a battery

• in 1981, a lady was allowed to revoke her testament, as it was established that her nephew was likely to give the money to the Hare Krishna organization