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The
Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious ...
has operated in Germany since 1970. German authorities estimate that there are 4,000 active Scientologists in Germany ; Bundesministerium des Innern, für Bau und Heimat (2021) the "Church" of Scientology gives a membership figure of around 12,000. Scientology-Fakten The "Church" of Scientology has encountered particular antagonism from the German press and government and occupies a precarious legal, social and cultural position in Germany. , German courts have so far not resolved whether to accord
Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...
the legal status of a religious or worldview community, and different courts have reached contradictory conclusions. The German domestic intelligence service is constantly monitoring the organization and mention them in their annual review about anti-constitutional activities. The
German government The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's or ...
does not recognize Scientology as a
religion Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
; rather, it views it as an abusive
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not sepa ...
masquerading as a religion and believes that it pursues political goals that conflict with the values enshrined in the
German constitution The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came in ...
. This stance has been criticized by the
U.S. government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
. Scientologists in Germany face specific political and economic restrictions. They are barred from membership in some major political parties, and businesses and other employers use so-called "sect filters" to expose a prospective business partner's or employee's association with the organization. German federal and state interior ministers started a process aimed at banning Scientology in late 2007, but abandoned the initiative a year later, finding insufficient legal grounds. As of 2017, polls suggest that half of Germans supported banning Scientology, while over two-thirds considered Scientology dangerous.


Background

Scientology, founded in the early 1950s in the United States by
L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...
and today claiming to be represented in 150 countries, has been a very controversial new religious movement. Richardson (2009), p. 283 Its stated utopian aim is to "clear the planet", to bring about an enlightened age in which every individual has overcome their psychological limitations. Palmer (2009), p. 316 Scientology teaches that the source of people's unhappiness lies in "engrams", psychological burdens acquired in the course of painful experiences, which can be cleared through a type of counselling called "auditing" made available by the "Church" of Scientology. The fact that Scientologists have to pay large fees for auditing and other Scientology services has brought controversy to Scientology throughout much of its history, with governments classing it as a profit-making enterprise rather than as a religion. Melton (2000), pp. 53–64 Critics maintain that Scientology is "a business-driven, psychologically manipulative, totalitarian ideology with world-dominating aspirations", and that it tricks its members into parting with significant sums of money for Scientology courses. Scientology has fought innumerable lawsuits to defend itself against such charges and to pursue legal recognition as a religion. These efforts have been partly successful – Scientology has gained recognition as a tax-exempt religious group in a number of countries, most notably in Australia in 1983 and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
in 1993, and in 2007 won an important case at the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
, which censured Russia for failing to register Scientology as a religion. Richardson (2009), pp. 286–288 The German government has said that it does not consider Scientology a religion, but a "commercial enterprise with a history of taking advantage of vulnerable individuals and an extreme dislike of any criticism" whose "totalitarian structure and methods may pose a risk to Germany's democratic society". Accordingly, the German government has taken a very strong stance against the organization. Germany is not alone in opposing Scientology; in France, the "Church" of Scientology was convicted of organized fraud in October 2009, after a court found that members had been manipulated into paying large sums for Scientology products, and the "Church" only narrowly escaped being banned altogether. Lauter (2009-10-28) Scientology is similarly controversial in Belgium, Greece and the UK. German Embassy, Washington (2001) On the subject of Scientology's status as a religion, the German government has pointed to a 1995 decision by the
Federal Labor Court of Germany The Federal Labour Court (''Bundesarbeitsgericht'') is the court of the last resort for cases of labour law in Germany, both for individual labour law (mostly concerning contracts of employment) and collective labour law (e.g. cases concerning ...
. That court, noting Hubbard's instruction that Scientologists should "make money, make more money – make other people produce so as to make more money", came to the conclusion that "Scientology purports to be a 'church' merely as a cover to pursue its economic interests". In the same decision, the court also found that Scientology uses "inhuman and totalitarian practices". Given the lessons of Germany's 20th-century history, in which the country came to be dominated by a
fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...
movement that started from similarly small beginnings, Germany is very wary of any ideological movement that might appear to be seeking a position of absolute power. Richardson (2009), p. 289 References in Scientology writings to the elimination of "parasites" and "antisocial" people who stand in the way of progress towards Scientology's
utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...
n world "without insanity, without criminals and without war" evoke uncomfortable parallels with
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
, and have led to Scientology being classified as an "extremist political movement". Luca (2004), p. 58 To further justify its stance, the German government has also pointed to the long history of U.S. court cases involving Scientology, including the conviction of 11 top Scientologists in 1979 and 1980 for a conspiracy involving the infiltration of U.S. government agencies, wiretapping and the theft of government documents, a 1994
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
finding that Scientology practices took place in a "coercive environment", and Scientology's track record of pursuing its critics through malicious court cases and private investigators. In examining the potential threat posed by Scientology the German government has noted that Scientology organizations are "structured so as to make the individual psychologically and financially dependent on a Scientology system", and that members often abandon contact with friends and family.


History


Scientology's presence in Germany

Scientology first became active in Germany in 1970. ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (2007-12-07) By 2007, there were ten major centres ("Scientology Churches"), as well as fourteen minor centres ("Scientology Missions") in Germany. The German Scientology Churches are located in the big cities –
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and H ...
,
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
, Berlin,
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
,
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...
,
Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany a ...
and
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the S ...
. Of the Scientology Missions, nine are in
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, and three in Bavaria. ''Berliner Morgenpost'' (2007-01-15) Following
German re-unification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, Scientology proved unable to gain significant numbers of followers in the territories of the former
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...
; most adherents are found in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...
. Scientology is represented by a large number of independent associations or ''Vereine'' in Germany; their umbrella organisation is the ''Scientology Kirche Deutschland e.V.'' Fifka & Sykora (2009), pp. 89 Germany's domestic intelligence service, the ''
Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (german: Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz or BfV, often ''Bundesverfassungsschutz'') is Germany's federal domestic intelligence agency. Together with the Landesämter für Verfassungs ...
'' (''BfV'', or Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution), estimates that there are 3,500 Scientologists in Germany, down from earlier estimates of 5,000 to 6,000. ''Berliner Morgenpost'' (2007-06-24) The
Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious ...
reported around 30,000 members from the mid-1990s onwards; this number remained stable for many years. However more recently Scientology has said it has only 12,000 members. Discrepancies in Scientology membership numbers arise because the Church of Scientology applies more inclusive criteria in establishing its figures, essentially including anyone who has purchased a book or participated in courses, regardless of their subsequent involvement. The number of contractually bound Scientology staff members working in German Scientology organizations is unlikely to exceed a few hundred. Scientology formulated a "Clear Germany" strategy in 1994 – similar to equivalent strategies pursued by Scientology in other countries and regions of the world – with the long-term aim of transforming German society in line with the Scientological ideal: a non-pluralist society in which Scientology enjoys overriding influence. Fifka & Sykora (2009), pp. 65–67 Scherff (2008), pp. 13–14 The programme sought to address Scientology's image problems in Germany, to identify weak points in Germany that could be exploited for political gain, such as Germany's National Socialist history, and to increase both membership figures and political influence in German society, with a special emphasis on manoeuvring Scientologists into key positions in industry and government. As most religions seek to widen their influence in society, such a programme could of course also be defended as a missionary effort, much like those many religions engage in. However, according to the ''BfV'', the strategy has not had any significant success. By 1998, 90 government officials had been suspected of being Scientologists and in 48 cases the suspicions were confirmed, but apart from some isolated cases, most of the officials concerned had not used their positions to advertise Scientology. According to Fifka & Sydora (2009), it is unknown to what degree the "Clear Germany" programme is still being pursued.


Public opposition

German public discourse does not regard Scientology as a religion, but generally characterizes it as a ''Sekte'' (cult or sect), or as an exploitative profit-making venture preying on vulnerable minds. Public concerns about the potential dangers posed by cults date back to the early 1970s, when widespread debate took place about "youth religions" such as the
Unification Church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or " Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy S ...
,
ISKCON The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktiv ...
, Children of God, and the Divine Light Mission. Seiwert (2004), pp. 85–94 The most prominent critics of these
new religious movements A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...
were the "sect commissioners" (''Sektenbeauftragte'') of Germany's
Protestant Church Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to ...
es, who also actively promoted the establishment of private "initiatives of parents and concerned persons". ''Aktion Bildungsinformation'' ("Educational Information Campaign") became an important organization dedicated to opposing Scientology; taking an activist stance, it warned people not to get involved with Scientology, filed successful lawsuits against the Church of Scientology over its proselytizing in public places, and published an influential book, ''The Sect of Scientology and its Front Organizations''. Melton (2000), pp. 61–62 In 1981, the organization's founder, Ingo Heinemann, became the director of ''Aktion für geistige und psychische Freiheit'' ("Campaign for Intellectual and Psychic Freedom"), Germany's most prominent anti-cult organization. Warnings from sect experts about the influence of new religious movements gained media attention which put political pressure on the government to deal with the situation; as the movements were not doing anything illegal, the government resorted to issuing a range of leaflets and public statements giving general warnings about religious sects, the earliest of these publications appearing in 1979. Fueled by events such as the
Waco Siege The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the law enforcement siege of the compound that belonged to the religious sect Branch Davidians. It was carried out by the U.S. federal government, Texas state law enforcement, and the U.S. ...
in 1993, the murders and suicides associated with the
Order of the Solar Temple The Order of the Solar Temple (french: Ordre du Temple solaire, OTS) and the International Chivalric Organization of the Solar Tradition, or simply The Solar Temple, is a cult and religious sect that claims to be based upon the ideals of the K ...
, and the 1995
Aum Shinrikyo , formerly , is a Japanese doomsday cult founded by Shoko Asahara in 1987. It carried out the deadly Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995 and was found to have been responsible for the Matsumoto sarin attack the previous year. The group says t ...
incidents in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, German fears and concerns about new religious movements gained in intensity in the 1990s, with Scientology attracting particular attention. Browne (1998), p. 201 Perceptions that Scientology had a totalitarian character were reinforced when
Robert Vaughn Young Robert Vaughn Young (April 23, 1938 – June 15, 2003) commonly known by his initials RVY, was an American whistleblower against the Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other o ...
, an American ex-Scientologist and former PR official in the "Church" of Scientology, visited German officials in late 1995 and wrote an article in ''
Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'', a widely read weekly magazine, describing Scientology as a totalitarian system operating a
gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
– the Rehabilitation Project Force – for members of Scientology's
Sea Org The Sea Organization (also known as the Sea Org) is a Scientology organization, which the Church of Scientology describes as a " fraternal religious order, comprising the religion’s most dedicated members". All Scientology management organizati ...
found guilty of transgressions. Kent (1999) From the mid-1990s onward, press articles, reports and essays on Scientology appeared on an almost daily basis, accompanied by books and television programmes that reached a mass audience. As noted by the religious scholar Hubert Seiwert, Scientology came to be seen as a "serious political danger that not only threatened to turn individuals into will-less zombies, but was also conspiring to overthrow the democratic constitution of the state". This view of Scientology as a
public enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...
, Seiwert adds, "became a matter of political correctness": senior political figures became involved in launching campaigns against Scientology, and being suspected of any association with it resulted in social ostracism.
Stephen A. Kent Stephen A. Kent is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He researches new religious movements (NRMs), and has published research on several such groups including the Children of Go ...
, writing in 1998, noted that officials at all levels of German government shared the insistence that Scientology should be suppressed. Scientology was viewed as "a totalitarian, business-driven organization ..guilty of significant human rights abuses." Kent (2002) Officials examining primary and secondary sources, legal documents, and the testimony of former members, concluded that the organization was "antithetical to a democratic state". Federal ministries and state governments were asked to use all legal means at their disposal to check the activities of Scientology. Boyle & Sheen (1997), p. 312–313 Government publications on the dangers of sects increased between 1996 and 1998, and a significant number of them dealt with the "Church" of Scientology. The German courts had approved such publications in 1989, seeing them as part of the government's responsibility to keep the public informed, and finding that they did not interfere with religious freedom. In 1996, the German parliament launched an Enquete (Enquiry) Commission to investigate sects and similar groups, in large part because of public concerns about Scientology. Its final report, published in June 1998, concluded that Scientology, alone among new religious movements, required monitoring by Germany's domestic intelligence services. An area of widespread concern in the German media has been the alleged "infiltration" of businesses by Scientologists, in line with Scientology's declared aim to penetrate society, politics and business in preparation for world domination. Brendel (2009-04-03) Attempts to infiltrate businesses have reportedly been most successful among small and medium-size companies, such as estate agents, management consultants and management-training companies. Management-consultancy firms led by Scientologists often conceal their association with Scientology; once they have recruited members of their clients' upper management, these managers may send employees to Scientology trainers, as part of company education and training programmes, without informing them as to the origin of the training methods used. Fleischhauer (1991-04-01) An expensive commercial version of Scientology's
Oxford Capacity Analysis The Oxford Capacity Analysis (OCA), also known as the American Personality Analysis, is a list of questions which is advertised as being a personality test and that is administered for free by the Church of Scientology. The OCA test is offered ...
, usually offered free as part of Scientology proselytizing in public places, temporarily entered some major German companies (who were unaware of its provenance) via such a management-consultancy firm. In the mid-2000s, German sect experts expressed concerns that Scientologists were becoming active in the German after-school tutoring market. Kleinhubbert (2006-06-22) These concerns arose because customers of around 20 after-school tutoring centres operated by Scientologists in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart and elsewhere might be unaware that their children were being taught by Scientologists, using Scientology methods. Brochures advertising the tutoring services would at most mention the name of
L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...
, the founder of Scientology, but not Scientology itself. In early 2008, Thomas Gandow, Sect Commissioner of the German Lutheran Church in Berlin and
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...
, and the historian
Guido Knopp Guido Knopp (born 29 January 1948 in Treysa, Hesse) is a German journalist and author. He is well known in Germany, mainly because he has produced a great number of TV documentaries, predominantly about the "Third Reich" and National Socialism, ...
both likened the Scientologist
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
actor
Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...
to
Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
, the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
propaganda minister. Smee (2008-01-21) Gandow and Knopp cited a leaked Scientology video in which Cruise was seen asking the audience whether Scientologists should "clean up" the world, the audience responding with enthusiastic cheers – cheers which Gandow and Knopp felt were reminiscent of the audience's response to Goebbels' famous question, " Do you want total war?" Gandow's and Knopp's comments found few critics in Germany. Most Germans consider Scientology a subversive organization. In 1997, ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' reported that 70% of Germans favoured banning Scientology; a poll conducted in September 2008 by ''
Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' found 67% support for a ban. Fröhlingsdorf & Stark (2008-09-22) German scholars such as Brigitte Schön and Gerald Willms have commented that rhetoric dominates public discourse around Scientology in Germany: in their view, efforts to " frame" information in such a way as to shape opinion have long been more important than the underlying realities. Willms (2005), pp. 11–14, 259–260 In Schön's words, this includes both the "efforts of German politicians to enhance their popularity with strong-worded statements" and "Scientology's efforts to present itself as the victim of unjust persecution"; commenting on foreign reporting on Scientology in Germany, she adds that "the American press may prefer sensationalist news to boring investigation and may frame the issue according to American stereotypes". Both Willms and Schön assert that the situation is compounded by the general paucity of scientific studies of Scientology. Schön as well as Irving Hexham, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary in Canada, have remarked in particular on the lack of academic studies by German scholars. Hexham attributes this situation to the strong influence of the Christian churches in Germany, which has made German academics wary of approaching the subject, because they fear repercussions for their research funding and for their prospects of future employment if they involve themselves in the debate. Hexham (1998) In 2010, a German public broadcaster, ARD, showed the film '' Until Nothing Remains'', a dramatized account of the effect Scientology had on one German family. ''Abendzeitung'' (2010-04-02) U.S. Department of State (2010-11-17) Said to be based on a true story, the film attracted widespread media attention and a viewership of 8.69 million.


Legal status

While there have been calls for Scientology to be banned, the "Church" of Scientology remains legal in Germany and is allowed to operate there. Cieply & Landler (2007-06-30) Its precise legal status however is unresolved. Menzenbach & Hippe (2007), pp. 1–2 Two points are contested: first, whether or not the teachings of Scientology qualify as a "religion or worldview" (''Religion'' or ''Weltanschauung''; these are equal before German law), 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 worldview community" (''Religions- oder Weltanschauungsgemeinschaft'') under Article 4 of the
German constitution The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came in ...
, which guarantees the freedom of belief, religion and worldview. Status as a "religious or worldview community" also affects a broad range of other issues in Germany, such as taxation and freedom of association. The
Federal Court of Justice of Germany The Federal Court of Justice (german: Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction (''ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit'') in Germany, founded in 1950. It has its seat in Karlsruhe with two panels being situat ...
has not yet made an explicit decision on the matter, but implicitly assumed in 1980 that Scientology represented a religious or worldview community. The Upper Administrative Court in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
explicitly asserted in 1994 that Scientology should be viewed as a worldview community. In 1995, the
Federal Labor Court of Germany The Federal Labour Court (''Bundesarbeitsgericht'') is the court of the last resort for cases of labour law in Germany, both for individual labour law (mostly concerning contracts of employment) and collective labour law (e.g. cases concerning ...
decided that the Church of Scientology merely pursued commercial aims and did not represent a religious or worldview community entitled to protection under Article 4 of the German Constitution, although another decision by the same court left the question open again in 2003. In another 2003 decision, the Administrative Court of
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
in Mannheim said there were no indications that the teachings of Scientology merely served as a pretext for commercial activity. In 2005, the
Federal Administrative Court of Germany The Federal Administrative Court (german: Bundesverwaltungsgericht, ) is one of the five federal supreme courts of Germany. It is the court of the last resort for generally all cases of administrative law, mainly disputes between citizens and t ...
explicitly granted a Scientologist protection under Article 4.1 of the German Constitution, which declares the freedom of religion and worldview inviolate. Zacharias (2006) Many courts have declined to assess the religious status of Scientology, finding that the question was irrelevant to deciding the case at hand. The Federal Administrative Court for example ruled in 1997 that the question whether or not Scientology was a religion was irrelevant, and that its legal status should be judged by its business activities. The German government does not consider the Church of Scientology to be a religious or worldview community and asserts that Scientology is a profit-making enterprise, rather than a religion. Recent years have seen a number of court decisions in Scientology's favour, despite the very widespread negative attitude to Scientology among politicians and the general public.


Government surveillance

Given the history of
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
's rise to power in Germany in the 1930s, the present German state has committed itself to taking active steps to prevent the rise of any ideology that threatens the values enshrined in the
German constitution The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came in ...
. Walker (1996-11-18) The ''BfV'' domestic intelligence service (''Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz'', or
Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (german: Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz or BfV, often ''Bundesverfassungsschutz'') is Germany's federal domestic intelligence agency. Together with the Landesämter für Verfassungss ...
) regards the aims of Scientology as running counter to Germany's free and democratic order, and has been monitoring Scientology since 1997, as have the Offices for the Protection of the Constitution in a number of German '' Länder''. Hering (2004-11-11) Minister for Family Policy Claudia Nolte instituted the surveillance, saying that the church had
totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...
tendencies and that she would oppose Scientology with all the means at her disposal. Hendon & Kennedy (1996), p. 445 The German Church of Scientology has repeatedly challenged the legality of this surveillance in court. 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. In 2003, the same court ruled that it was illegal for the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution to include the activities of Scientology in its report, given that the report did not document any activities that were opposed to the constitution. Besier & Neumann (2004), p. 213 At the federal level, Scientology lost a complaint against continued surveillance by the ''BfV'' in November 2004. The federal court based its opinion on its judgment that the aims of Scientology, as outlined by
L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...
in his writings, were incompatible with the German constitution. ''Der Spiegel'' (2005-04-27) Lawyers acting for the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution pointed out that Hubbard had written that
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
, for example, should be restricted to Scientologists, and they asserted that the Scientology organization was taking systematic steps to infiltrate society and government institutions in order to prevent anti-Scientology legislation. Opposing counsel acting for the Church of Scientology had contended that Scientology was non-political, its aims were the liberation of the human being, and that Hubbard's instructions were valid only within the Church of Scientology and were subject to interpretation, and at any rate there was no effort to implement these instructions in Germany. The court disagreed and ruled that many sources, some of them not accessible to the general public, indicated that the aims of the Church of Scientology did include the abrogation of the principle of equality and other essential human rights. In
Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
, surveillance was stopped by a court as inappropriate in 2005, 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 ''BfV'' after the
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...
Higher Administrative Court in Münster refused to hear an appeal on the matter. Being suspected of maintaining "ambitions against the free, democratic basic order", the Scientology organization added a declaration on human rights and democracy to its
bylaws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authori ...
. Eddy (2008-05-06) There is at least one example of surveillance of Scientology by the German intelligence services outside of Germany. In 1998, the Swiss government detained an agent of the German government, charging him with "carrying out illegal business for a foreign state, working for a political information service and falsifying identity documents". ''BBC News'' (1998-04-09) The German government posted bail for the agent. Hendon & Allman (1998), p. 714 He was eventually given a 30-day suspended jail sentence for spying on Scientology, and the German government apologized to Switzerland for the incident.


Sect filters

A "sect filter", also known as a "protective declaration" (''Schutzerklärung''), is a document that requires prospective business partners or employees to acknowledge any association with a sect or new religious movement before entering a business or employment contract. Shupe & Darnell (2006), p. 231 Such sect filters, primarily used to screen out Scientologists, have been drafted by German government agencies for use by businesses. "Sect commissioner" offices exist in Germany as part of regional or local government. A work instruction introduced in 1996 requires government staff in the ''Arbeitsämter'' – local employment agencies and social security offices operated by the
Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs The Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs (german: Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales, ), abbreviated BMAS) is a federal ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany headed by the Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs a ...
 – to mark companies owned by Scientologists with the letter "S". Where companies are suspected of having Scientologist staff, prospective employees are alerted to this fact by government staff. Government officials have publicised the names of individual Scientologists and conducted media campaigns against their businesses; some businesspeople have placed advertisements in the press saying they are not Scientologists in order to avoid the associated stigma. Due to concerns about possible government infiltration by Scientologists, applicants for civil service positions in Bavaria are required to declare whether or not they are Scientologists, and a similar policy has been instituted in
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
. Cohen (1996-11-15) Companies tendering for government contracts were likewise required to state they are not Scientologists; in 2001, this requirement was changed, and firms are now asked to sign a form stating that "the technology of L. Ron Hubbard will not be used in executing the contract". Fox (2008), pp. 129–130 When it became known that
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
's
Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was released to manufacturing on December 15, 1999, and was officially ...
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also ...
included a
disk defragmenter Disk or disc may refer to: * Disk (mathematics), a geometric shape * Disk storage Music * Disc (band), an American experimental music band * ''Disk'' (album), a 1995 EP by Moby Other uses * Disk (functional analysis), a subset of a vector spa ...
developed by Executive Software International (a company headed by a Scientologist), this caused concern among German government officials and clergy over data security and the potential for espionage. To assuage these concerns, Microsoft Germany agreed to provide a means to disable the utility. Haddadin (2000-11-06) Following letters of complaint about discrimination from Scientology lawyers, some American companies such as
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ener ...
, IBM and
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
instructed their German subsidiaries to cease the use of protective declarations. Nordhausen & Billerbeck (2008), pp. 469–470 The city-state of
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
set up a full-time office dedicated to opposing Scientology, the Scientology Task Force for the Hamburg Interior Authority, under the leadership of Ursula Caberta. Melton (2000), p. 62 In 2005, in a case brought by a Scientologist, the
Federal Administrative Court of Germany The Federal Administrative Court (german: Bundesverwaltungsgericht, ) is one of the five federal supreme courts of Germany. It is the court of the last resort for generally all cases of administrative law, mainly disputes between citizens and t ...
ordered the city of Hamburg to cease recommending the use of protective declarations to its business community, finding that the practice infringed religious freedom. In June 2008, the Hamburg Administrative Court fined the city of Hamburg 5,000 Euros ($7,000) for not complying with court instructions banning the use of "sect filters." U.S. Department of State (2009-02-25) Internet links to sample filters to be used by businesses had continued to remain available.
Eileen Barker Eileen Vartan Barker (born 21 April 1938, in Edinburgh, UK) is a professor in sociology, an emeritus member of the London School of Economics (LSE), and a consultant to that institution's Centre for the Study of Human Rights. She is the chairpe ...
, a professor of
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
at the London School of Economics, has noted that "Germany has gone further than any other Western European country in restricting the civil rights of Scientologists." The Hamburg task force was closed down in August 2010 as a result of budget cuts; Caberta moved to a position within the Hamburg interior authority, where she continues her work on Scientology. Scientologists have been banned from joining major political parties in Germany such as the Christian Democratic Union, the
Christian Social Union of Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria ( German: , CSU) is a Christian-democratic and conservative political party in Germany. Having a regionalist identity, the CSU operates only in Bavaria while its larger counterpart, the Christian Democra ...
, the
Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been ...
and the Free Democratic Party. Frantz (1997-11-08) Existing Scientologist members of these parties have been "purged", according to ''Time'' magazine. Scientologists have been prevented from running employment and au pair agencies in Germany; Scientologists who were running such agencies had their permits revoked. In 1995, a sports scientist and former member of the German national
fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline ...
team was dismissed from his job at the German Olympic fencing centre after he stated in an interview that he had enjoyed reading books by L. Ron Hubbard and had participated in a course run by a Scientologist management and communication consultancy firm.
Thomas Gottschalk Thomas Johannes Gottschalk (born 18 May 1950) is a German radio and television host and entertainer. He is best known for hosting '' Wetten, dass..?'', for many years Europe's biggest television show, which he steered to huge success in Germany, ...
, a German TV presenter, was falsely accused in 1993 of having taken part in Scientology courses; Gottschalk responded by announcing that he had not, and that he would henceforth cease all contact with a friend who had links to Scientology. In 2007,
Günther Oettinger Günther Hermann Oettinger (born 15 October 1953) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources from 2017 to 2019, as European Commissioner for Digi ...
, the
Minister-President A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...
of the German state of
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, expressed concern that Scientologist
John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' (1 ...
was to appear on Gottschalk's programme, and asked the
ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
TV station to consider revoking the invitation; the ZDF said that uninviting Travolta would cause greater damage, and that Scientology was not going to be discussed in the programme. In 2010, the Bavarian Administrative Court ruled that a woman working in a children's daycare centre, whose employment had been terminated when her ex-husband identified her as a Scientologist, should be reinstated. ''Abendzeitung'' (2010-05-19) The woman had demonstrated to the court's satisfaction that her Scientological beliefs were irrelevant to her work. According to the agreement that concluded the case, she promised not to use Scientology methods in her work, and to inform the children's parents of her membership in Scientology. According to Erin Prophet in ''Handbook of Scientology'' some German companies have specifically asked applicants if they are Scientologist, and denied employment to those who are affiliated with the Church. Prophet says that similar claims have been made against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Catholic Church.


Initiative to ban Scientology

In March 2007, it was reported that German authorities were increasing their efforts to monitor Scientology in response to the opening of a new Scientology headquarters in Berlin. On December 7, 2007, German federal and state interior ministers expressed the opinion that the Scientology organization was continuing to pursue anti-constitutional goals, restricting "essential basic and human rights like the dignity of man or the right to equal treatment", and asked Germany's domestic intelligence agencies to collect and evaluate the information required for a possible judicial inquiry aimed at banning the organization. The move was criticized by German politicians from all sides of the political spectrum, with legal experts and intelligence agencies expressing concern that an attempt to ban the organization would likely fail in the courts. ''Tagesspiegel'' (2007-12-08) Sabine Weber, president of the Church of Scientology in Berlin, called the accusations "unrealistic" and "absurd" and said that the German interior ministers' evaluation was based on "a few sentences out of 500,000 pages of Scientological literature". She added, "I can also find hundreds of quotes in the Bible that are totalitarian but that doesn't mean I will demand the ban of Christianity." Grieshaber (2007-12-09) In November 2008, the government abandoned its attempts to ban Scientology, after finding insufficient evidence of illegal or unconstitutional activity. ''CBC News'' / AP (2008-11-21) The report by the ''BfV'' cited knowledge gaps and noted several points that would make the success of any legal undertaking to ban Scientology doubtful. First, the ''BfV'' report stated there was no evidence that Scientology could be viewed as a foreign organization; there were German churches and missions, a German board, German bylaws, and no evidence that the organization was "totally remote-controlled" from the United States. A foreign organization would have been much easier to ban than a German one. The second argument on which those proposing the ban had counted was Scientology's aggressive opposition to the constitution. Here, the report found that Scientology's behaviour gave no grounds to assume that Scientology aggressively sought to attack and overthrow Germany's free and democratic basic order. "Neither its bylaws nor any other utterances" supported the "conclusion that the organization had criminal aims". The ''BfV'' also considered whether there were grounds to act against the Church of Scientology on the basis that they were practising medicine without a licence, but expressed doubts that a court would accept this reasoning. Commenting on the decision to drop the ban attempt, Ehrhart Körting, Berlin's interior minister, said, "This organization pursues goals – through its writings, its concept and its disrespect for minorities – that we cannot tolerate and that we consider in violation of the constitution. But they put very little of this into practice. The appraisal of the Government at the moment is that cientologyis a lousy organization, but it is not an organization that we have to take a hammer to." Fischer (2008-11-23) The Church of Scientology expressed satisfaction with the decision, describing it as the "only one possible". Monitoring of Scientology's activities by the German intelligence services continues. In February 2009, the Berlin Administrative Court ruled that a poster placed by local city authorities on an advertising column next to a bus stop in front of the Berlin Scientology headquarters, warning passers-by of the potential dangers Scientology activities posed to democracy and individual freedom, should be removed. ''Tagesspiegel'' (2009-07-14) The decision was upheld in July 2009 by the Upper Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg, which ruled that the poster violated Scientologists' basic religious rights.


Criticism of Germany's stance

The United States media, while generally reporting negatively on Scientology in domestic news, has taken an at least partially supportive stance towards Scientology in relation to Germany. Schön (2001), pp. 1, 6, 18 Richard Cohen for example, writing in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', said in 1996: "Scientology might be one weird religion, but the German reaction to it is weirder still – not to mention disturbing."
Alan Cowell Alan S. Cowell (born 16 March 1947) is a British journalist and a former foreign correspondent for ''The New York Times''. Career Between 2008 and 2013 Cowell was a Senior Correspondent for NYTimes.com based in Paris. In March 2015, he left the ...
, writing in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', wrote in 1997 that the German response to Scientology – motivated by officials' fear that Scientology "was a totalitarian movement growing, like the Nazi party, from inconsequential beginnings" – was itself redolent of "the Nazi era's authoritarianism". The
U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...
has repeatedly claimed that Germany's actions constitute government and societal discrimination against minority religious groups and expressed its concerns over the violation of Scientologists' individual rights posed by sect filters. ''The Washington Post'' (1997-02-01) Frantz (1997-03-09) The U.S. Department of State began to include the issue of Scientology in Germany in its annual human rights reports after the 1993 agreement between the Church of Scientology and the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...
, through which Scientology gained the status of a tax-exempt religion in the United States. That decision also marked the beginning of more intense lobbying efforts by the Church of Scientology in Washington, using paid lobbyists. The State Department's 1996 human rights report on Germany, released in January 1997, warned that artists and businesses with Scientology connections "may face boycotts and discrimination, sometimes with government approval." Past targets of such actions had included Scientologist actors
Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...
and
John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' (1 ...
, as well as jazz pianist
Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...
. Also in January 1997, an open letter to then-Chancellor
Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longe ...
appeared, published as a newspaper advertisement in the ''
International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be sai ...
'', drawing parallels between the "organized oppression" of Scientologists in Germany and
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
policies espoused by Germany in the 1930s. The letter was conceived and paid for by Hollywood lawyer Bertram Fields, whose clients have included Tom Cruise and John Travolta, and was signed by 34 prominent figures in the U.S. entertainment industry, including the top executives of
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
,
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
,
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
, Universal and
Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, ac ...
as well as actors
Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood The New Hollywood, also known as American New Wave or Hollywood Renaissance, was a movement in American ...
and
Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program '' Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and G ...
, director
Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' S ...
, writers
Mario Puzo Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author, screenwriter, and journalist. He is known for his crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably ''The Godfather'' (1969), which h ...
and
Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and es ...
and talk-show host
Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...
. Bonfante & van Voorst (1997-02-10) It echoed similar parallels drawn by the Church of Scientology itself, which until then had received scant notice, and was followed by lobbying efforts of Scientology celebrities in Washington. Dahl (1998-03-29) U.S. Department of State spokesman Nicholas Burns rejected the Nazi comparisons in the open letter as "outrageous" and distanced the U.S. government from Nazi comparisons made by the Church of Scientology, saying, "We have criticized the Germans on this, but we aren't going to support the Scientologists' terror tactics against the German government." Chancellor Kohl, commenting on the letter, said that those who signed it "don't know a thing about Germany and don't want to know." German officials argued that "the whole fuss was cranked up by the Scientologists to achieve what we won't give them: tax-exempt status as a religion. This is intimidation, pure and simple." Officials explained that precisely because of Germany's Nazi past, Germany took a determined stance against all "radical cults and sects, including right-wing Nazi groups", and not just against Scientology. Kohl's Christian Democratic Union party denounced the letter as "absurd" and cited German court rulings stating that Scientology had primarily economic goals and could legitimately be referred to using phrases such as a "contemptuous
cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mo ...
of oppression". Schmid (1997-01-15) In February 1997, a United States immigration court judge granted asylum to a German Scientologist who claimed she would be subject to
religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate o ...
in her homeland. In April 1997, John Travolta met personally with U.S. President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
at a conference in Philadelphia. Travolta later said Clinton assured him that he would "really love to help" with the "issue over in Germany with Scientology". According to Travolta, Clinton recalled that "he had a roommate years ago who was a Scientologist and had really liked him, and respected his views on it", stating that Scientologists "were given an unfair hand in ermanyand that he wanted to fix it". In September 1997, John Travolta, Chick Corea and fellow Scientologist
Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwr ...
were heard by the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, is an independent U.S. government agency created by Congress in 1975 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Final Act and ...
(CSCE, also known as the Helsinki Commission), voicing their complaints about the treatment of Scientologists in Germany, and had a briefing with
United States National Security Advisor The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor (NSA),The National Security Advisor and Staff: p. 1. is a senior aide in the Executive Office of the President, based at t ...
Sandy Berger, whom Clinton had assigned to be "the administration's Scientology point person". The German ambassador responded with a letter to the CSCE stating that the German government had come to the conclusion that Scientology's "pseudo-scientific courses can seriously jeopardize individuals' mental and physical health and that it exploits its members", adding that "membership can lead to psychological and physical dependency, to financial ruin, and even to suicide. In addition, there are indications that Scientology poses a threat to Germany's basic political principles." A
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
report in April 1998 raised concerns about the violation of individual rights posed by sect filters. However, it rejected the comparison of the treatment of Scientologists with that of
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
s during the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
era. U.S. Department of State (1999) In 2000, the German ''
Stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
'' magazine published the results of its investigation of the asylum case. It asserted that several rejection letters which the woman had submitted as part of her asylum application – ostensibly from potential employers who were rejecting her because she was a Scientologist – had in fact been written by fellow Scientologists at her request and that of Scientology's
Office of Special Affairs The Office of Special Affairs (OSA), formerly the Guardian's Office, is a department of the Church of Scientology International. According to the Church, the OSA is responsible for directing legal affairs, public relations, pursuing investigation ...
, and that she was in personal financial trouble and about to go on trial for
tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...
at the time she applied for asylum. Kent (2001), pp. 3, 12–13 , On a 2000 visit to
Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populati ...
, Ursula Caberta of the Scientology Task Force for the Hamburg Interior Authority likewise alleged that the asylum case had been part of an "orchestrated effort" by Scientology undertaken "for political gain", and "a spectacular abuse of the U.S. system". Tobin (2000-07-26) German expatriate Scientologists resident in Clearwater, in turn, accused Caberta of stoking a "hate campaign" in Germany that had "ruined the lives and fortunes of scores of Scientologists" and maintained that Scientologists had not "exaggerated their plight for political gain in the United States." Mark Rathbun, a (former) top Church of Scientology official, said that although Scientology had not orchestrated the case, "there would have been nothing improper if it had." In 2003, Joachim Güntner, writing in the Swiss ''
Neue Zürcher Zeitung The ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'' (''NZZ''; "New Journal of Zürich") is a Swiss, German-language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zürich. The paper was founded in 1780. It was described as having a reputation as a high-quality ...
'', noted that Gerhard Besier, a German Christian theologian, director of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research into Totalitarianism in
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth l ...
and recipient of an honorary doctorate from
Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion ''taz'' (2009-06-16) Güntner concluded that "alarmism" had "triumphed" over science and noted an apparent lack of confidence in Germany's ability to engage in open public discourse on the matter. Güntner (2003-11-24) The U.S. Department of State's 2012 report on religious freedom in Germany, published in 2013, stated that "The status of the Church of Scientology remains in limbo. The Constitutional Court and various courts at the state level have not explicitly ruled that Scientology is a religion. Government agencies at the federal and state level have rules and procedures that discriminate against Scientology as a group and against its members. Four of the major political parties (the Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, Social Democratic Party, and Free Democratic Party) ban Scientologists from party membership. ..Scientologists reported instances of governmental discrimination. Although courts at the state and federal level condemned the improper use of so-called 'sect filters' to blacklist and boycott Scientologists, they remained in use in the public sector. 'Sect filters' typically asked potential new employees to confirm in writing that they had no contact with Scientology, did not participate in its training courses, and rejected its doctrines. ..Catholic and Protestant churches continued to oppose Scientology , although press reporting and public reactions to Scientology decreased. Several private organizations issued warnings about after-school study programs run by Scientologists." U.S. Department of State (2014)


See also

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Scientology status by country Scientology status by country describes the status of Scientology and its recognition as a religion or otherwise in different countries. The Church of Scientology pursues an extensive public relations campaign for state recognition of Scientology a ...


Notes


References


Scholarly sources

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Journalistic sources

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Government and court documents

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Scientology sources

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External links


Scientology sites


Scientology.de

Menschenrechtsbuero.de
– Human Rights website of the German Church of Scientology


German government sites


Scientology: Publications of German regional governments
– Website of the German
Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (german: Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz or BfV, often ''Bundesverfassungsschutz'') is Germany's federal domestic intelligence agency. Together with the Landesämter für Verfassungss ...

Website of the Hamburg Scientology Task Force
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scientology In Germany Germany Religious organisations based in Germany