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Scientology in Germany

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Scientology in Germany has had a difficult time achieving legal recognition. Various German courts have come to contradictory decisions on Scientology's status as a religion. The German government takes the view that Scientology is not a religion, and that its goals are in conflict with the German constitution. Scientologists in Germany are subjected to surveillance and discrimination. Germany has been criticized over its stance towards Scientology, notably by the United States.

Legal status and court decisions

The status of Scientology in Germany is unresolved. Two points are contested: firstly, whether or not the teachings of Scientology qualify as a religious or ideological teaching, and secondly, whether or not these teachings are only used as a pretext for purely commercial activity; if the latter were the case, this would most likely imply that Scientology would not qualify for protection as a religious or ideological community under Article 4 of the German constitution.

In 1995, the Federal Labor Court of Germany took the view that the Church of Scientology does not represent a religious or ideological community entitled to protection under Article 4 of the German Constitution, but in 2003, in another decision, left this question open again.

The Federal Court of Justice of Germany has not yet made an explicit decision on the matter, but implicitly assumed in 1980 that Scientology represents a religious or ideological community. The Upper Administrative Court in Hamburg explicitly asserted in 1994 that Scientology should be viewed as an ideological community. The Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg likewise does not endorse the view that the teachings of Scientology merely serve as a pretext for commercial activity. The Federal Administrative Court of Germany in 2005 explicitly granted a Scientologist protection under Article 4.1 of the German Constitution, which declares the freedom of religion inviolate.

In most legal cases, however, German courts have judged the status of Scientology to be irrelevant to their decision and have opted to leave the question open.

The German government has recently confirmed that it does not consider Scientology a religious or ideological community.

"Sect filters"

Germany's so-called "sect filters" are used primarily against Scientologists, establishing discrimination against Scientologists in employment, as well as discrimination in political party membership. The sect filter is a questionnaire requiring an applicant to acknowledge an association with Scientology before being accepted for a position. German government agencies have drafted such sect filters for use by businesses, and various local governments operate "sect commissioner's" offices. The city of Hamburg in particular has etablished a full-time office dedicated to opposing Scientology, the Scientology Task Force for the Hamburg Interior Authority under the leadership of Ursula Caberta.

A controversy related to the sect filters arose in 2000 when it became known that Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system included code developed by Executive Software International, a company headed by a Scientologist. To assuage German government concerns, Microsoft Germany provided a means whereby the utility, a disk defragmenter, could be disabled.

Monitoring by the German intelligence services

Since 1997, Scientology has been monitored in some German states by the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution), which takes the view that the aims of Scientology run counter to Germany's free and democratic basic order. Minister for Family Policy Claudia Nolte instituted the surveillance, saying that the church had totalitarian tendencies and that she would oppose Scientology with all means at her disposal. In the city of Hamburg, the Scientology Task Force for the Hamburg Interior Authority also monitors the group. In April 1999, a German official was arrested in Switzerland and given a 30-day suspended jail sentence for spying on Scientology. The German government apologized to Switzerland for the incident. In December 2001, the Administrative Court in Berlin ruled against the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution and ordered it to stop the recruitment and deployment of staff and members of the Church of Scientology Berlin as paid informants. The court ruled that the use of informants was disproportionate.

On a Federal level, Scientology lost a complaint against continued surveillance by the federal Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz because the court gave its opinion that there are indications that Scientology is pursuing anti-constitutional activities. In Berlin, the court prohibited the use of paid undercover agents. In Saarland, surveillance was stopped by the court as inappropriate because there is no local branch of Scientology and few members. As of 6 May 2008, the Church of Scientology in Germany dropped the legal battle to prevent surveillance of its activities by the Verfassungsschutz after the North Rhine-Westphalia Higher Administrative Court in Munster refused to hear an appeal on a ruling approving the intelligence services for monitoring the activities of the Church of Scientology. The Scientology organization has now added a declaration on human rights and democracy to its bylaws.

In March 2007, it was reported that Scientology had opened a new headquarters in Berlin, and that German authorities were responding by increasing their efforts to monitor Scientology. On December 7, 2007, German federal and state interior ministers expressed the view that the Scientology organization continues to pursue anti-constitutional goals and asked Germany's domestic intelligence agencies to collect and evaluate the necessary information that would be required for a possible judicial inquiry aimed at banning the organization. However, the move was criticized by politicians from all parts of the political spectrum, with legal experts expressing concern that an attempt to ban the organization would most likely fail in the courts. This view was echoed by the German intelligence agencies, who warned that a ban would be doomed to fail. In November 2008, Germany gave up on its attempt to ban Scientology, after finding insufficient evidence of illegal or unconstitutional activity. However, monitoring of Scientology's activities by the German intelligence services continues.

The collection of intelligence extend beyond the German borders. In 1998, the Swiss government detained an agent of the German government for trying to get assistance on collecting information on the Church of Scientology's activities in Switzerland. This individual had allegedly contacted Susanne Haller, a member of the city council of Basel, where the Church of Scientology operates a mission. The German government ultimately bailed out the agent.

Criticism of Germany's stance

The U.S. Department of State has repeatedly claimed that Germany's actions constitute government and societal discrimination against minority religious groups – within which it includes Scientology – and regularly expresses its concerns over infringement of Scientologsts' individual rights. It has also warned that companies and artists associated with Scientology may be subject to "government-approved discrimination and boycotts" in Germany.

In 1997, an open letter to then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl, published as a newspaper advertisement in the International Herald Tribune, drew parallels between the "organized oppression" of Scientologists in Germany and Nazi policies espoused by Germany in the 1930s. The letter was signed by Dustin Hoffman, Goldie Hawn and a number of other Hollywood celebrities and executives. The response from Kohl's Christian Democratic Party was to denounce the letter as "absurd" and cite previous German court rulings that Scientology had primarily economic goals.

A United Nations report in April 1998 asserted that individuals in Germany were discriminated against because of their affiliation with Scientology. However, it rejected the comparison of the treatment of Scientologists with that of Jews during the Nazi era.

References

  1. ^ bundestag.de: Legal questions concerning religious and ideological communities, prepared by the Scientific Services staff of the German Parliament Template:Languageicon
  2. German Law Journal
  3. BVerwG Az.: 7 C 20.04, 15 December 2005 Template:Languageicon
  4. ^ U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Germany
  5. ^ Shupe, Anson (2006). Agents of Discord. New Brunswick (U.S.A.), London (U.K.): Transaction Publishers. p. 231. ISBN 0-7658-0323-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. Melton, J. Gordon (2000). The Church of Scientology. Salt Lake City: Signature Press. p. 62. ISBN 1-56085-139-2.
  7. Haddadin, Haitham (2000-11-06). Scientologist-software man blasts Germany, Independent Online
  8. Report of the German federal Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz intelligence agency
  9. Hendon, David W. (1996). "Notes on Church-State Affairs:Germany". Journal of Church & State. 38 (2): 445. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |laydate=, |laysummary=, |day=, and |laysource= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. Switzerland: Scientology Spying by a German Official Spurs Jail Term
  11. Berlin Administrative Court Rules Against the Use of Undercover Agents Posing as Scientologists
  12. Administrative court of Berlin, finding on 13. December 2001, file number: 27 A 260.98
  13. Upper administrative court of Saarland, finding on 27. April 2005, file number: 2 R 14/03
  14. AP via IHT
  15. Stark, Holger (2007-03-27). "Scientology's New European Offensive: The March of the 'Orgs'". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2007-11-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Scientology – Zweifel an Verbotsplänen, article in Tagesspiegel, 2007-12-8 Template:Languageicon
  17. Sammlung der zur Veröffentlichung freigegebenen Beschlüsse der 185. Sitzung der Ständigen Konferenz der Innenminister und -senatoren der Länder am 7. Dezember 2007 in Berlin Template:Languageicon
  18. Innenminister fordern Verbot von Scientology, article in Die Welt, 2007-12-8 Template:Languageicon
  19. "Lack of Evidence: Agencies Warn Scientology Ban Doomed to Fail". Der Spiegel. 2007-12-10. Retrieved 2007-12-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Germany drops attempt to ban Scientology (AP)
  21. Hendon, David W. (1998). "Notes on Church-State Affairs:Germany". Journal of Church & State. 40 (3): 714. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |laydate=, |laysummary=, |day=, and |laysource= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  22. ^ U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report 1999: Germany
  23. ^ Germany, America and Scientology, Washington Post, February 1, 1997
  24. Frantz, Douglas (1997-03-09). "Scientology's Puzzling Journey From Tax Rebel to Tax Exempt". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report 2005: Germany
  26. U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report 2006: Germany
  27. Tank, Ron (1997-01-30). "U.S. report backs Scientologists in dispute with Germany". CNN. Retrieved 2007-11-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ Schmid, John (1997-01-15). German Party Replies To Scientology Backers, Herald Tribune
  29. Bonfante, Jordan; van Voorst, Bruce (1997-02-10). "Does Germany Have Something Against These Guys?", Time

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