Indicator history

In general, according to Sec. 4 of the German constitution there are no legal restrictions with regard to exercising or manifesting ones religion or belief.
Yet, there are areas of life in which the exercise of religious beliefs is restricted.

Against the background that schools are legally required to be a religiously and ideologically neutral area, several Federal States have enacted legislation to prohibit teachers in public schools from wearing visible items of religious clothing such as headscarfs and symbols. In Baden-Württemberg and Berlin similar legislation exists for kindergarten teachers in addition. In Hesse and Berlin the ban cover moreover, civil servants in the field of justice and law enforcement (including judges, prosecutors, police officers, and court and prison officials) [1].

The judgement by the regional court Cologne from May 2012, in which the court found circumcision of an infant boy to constitute bodily harm in spite of the agreement of the parents, triggered a heated debate in Germany. In this specific case of 2010, a local general practitioner circumcised a boy due to religious motives of the parents. No medical necessity for the circumcision was present. The accused doctor was acquitted of the charges of dangerous bodily harm by the regional court Cologne in 2011. The fundamental right of the child to be not harmed outweighs the parents’ right to freedom and education of their child. Due to the fact, that the accused could not have been aware of his actions being a criminal offence, the court reconfirmed the acquittal of the regional court [5]. Criticism was expressed from a wide range of actors, in particular the Jewish community. On 14 December 2012, the Federal Council adopted a new law on circumcision of the male child. According to the law, the operation has to be carried out under up-to-date medical standards and includes the use of anodyne [4].

Source:

1. Human Rights Watch (2009), Discrimination in the Name of Neutrality. Headscarf Bans for Teachers and Civil Servants in Germany, http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/germany0209_web.pdf, Accessed on 20.02.2012.
2. German constitution, available on: http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bundesrecht/gg/gesamt.pdf, Accessed on 20.02.2012.
3. Peucker, Mario (2009), Racism and Ethnic Discrimination in Germany Update Report 2009, http://www.efms.uni-bamberg.de/pdf/RAXEN-Jahresbericht_2009_DE.pdf, Accessed on 20.02.2012.
4. Germany, Federal Council (Bundesrat) ‘Beschneidung von Jungen auch künftig zulässig‘, Press release 14 December 2012, available at: http://www.bundesrat.de/cln_227/nn_8538/DE/presse/pm/2012/202-2012.html?__nnn=true, Accessed on 22.01.2013.
5. Germany, Regional Court Cologne (Landgericht Köln), Köln/151 Ns 169/11, 07 May 2012, available at:http://www.justiz.nrw.de/nrwe/lgs/koeln/lg_koeln/j2012/151_Ns_169_11_Urteil_20120507.html, Accessed on 22.01.2013.