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Scientology: religious persecution in Germany?

The U.S.-based Church of Scientology claims "human rights abuses against Scientologists in Germany". The Church alleges that its German members

• are being systematically discriminated
• have been dismissed from jobs
• have been dismissed from schools
• have been dismissed from political parties
• have been dismissed from social, business and political organizations
• have been denied the right to professional licences
• have been denied the right to perform their art
• have been denied the right to open/maintain bank accounts and open loans
• have been denied the right to use public facilities and concert halls
• are regularly blacklisted, boycotted, vilified, ostracized and threatened simply due to their association with the religion of Scientology.

To sum it up, Scientology paints itself as a persecuted religion.

Scientology propaganda against Germany

Documents alleging religious persecution in Germany

The German Federal Government maintains that "Scientology is an organization which has primarily economical interests". This idea has been reinforced by a ruling of the Federal Labour court (which is not connected to the government in any way). After having reviewed several Scientology books, the judges concluded that Scientology is not a religion, but a commercial enterprise.

Furthermore, the German government maintains that Scientology tries to distribute its ideas as widely as possible, ideally leading to a society where humans life together according to Scientology rules. A closer look at Hubbard's writings shows that this is not desirable since Scientology is structured in a totalitarian, anti-democratic fashion. Attempts to establish itself in a leading position in society have taken place in Rhodesia (1966, described by Russell Miller in chapter 15 of "Bare-Faced Messiah"), Corfu (1968, described by Major John Forte in his book The Commodore and the Colonels), and Morocco (1972, described by Russell Miller in chapter 18 of "Bare-Faced Messiah"). More recently, similar attempts were discovered during a raid on the Scientology headquarters in Greece (and Scientology was consequently closed). Possibly, the same has happened in Colombia.

The German constitution on Freedom of Religion

Official German responses to Scientology

The following links provide some background information.

The history of Scientology in Germany

Operation Snow White

L. Ron Hubbard on democracy & ethics

L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology on Germany

Court rulings on Scientology in Germany

Frequently Asked Questions about Germany vs. Scientology

Books and papers on Scientology

Links to other web pages in Germany

Real-world addresses for more information

[ All available items ] [ Main Scientology page ]

For the sake of international accessibility, the text of this page is in English. I assume that most Germans understand enough English to learn what this page is all about.

If you follow the links, you will find that many of the documents presented here are in German, though. I am also currently making an attempt to write a few German-only pages of my own:

• Was glauben Scientologen?
  (What do Scientologists believe?)
• Wie viele Scientologen gibt es in Deutschland?
  (How many Scientologists are there in Germany?)

Cornelius Krasel (phak004@rzbox.uni-wuerzburg.de)