page_title: Freedom of religion in Germany
section_title: Legal situation
hierarchical_section_title: Freedom of religion in Germany / Legal situation
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Das MC-Logo (Mennocamp, veranstaltet von der Mennoniten-Brüdergemeinde Oerlinghausen) im Schein der untergehenden Sonne
context_page_description: Freedom of religion in Germany is guaranteed by article 4 of the German constitution. This states that "the freedom of religion, conscience and the freedom of confessing one's religious or philosophical beliefs are inviolable. Uninfringed religious practice is guaranteed." In addition, article 3 states that "No one may be prejudiced or favored because of his gender, his descent, his race, his language, his homeland and place of origin, his faith or his religious or political views." Any person or organization can call the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany for free help.
  The German system of state support for otherwise independent religious institutions assists all religions equally in principle, though in practice it has been unable to fully encompass some minority faiths. The government has granted most of the country's major religious communities "public law corporation" status – Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts in German – which allows for numerous benefits. Traditions that lack a centrally organized national structure – most notably Islam – have had difficulty attaining PLC status and the benefits that come with it.
context_section_description: The freedom of religion in the Grundgesetz (Basic Law) means one may adopt any kind of religious or non-religious belief, practice it in private or in public, confess it, or keep it for oneself. The state does not identify with any religious organization. This distinction of church and state originated in what is now called the two kingdoms doctrine.
  Religious freedom, like the other basic rights of the Grundgesetz, is limited where it collides with the core value of human dignity or with the basic rights of others, or if it is misused to fight against the basic constituency of free democracy.
  Art. 4 sec. III provides for the right to refrain from military service in the name of religion (lit. "conscience").
caption: A Mennonite Brethren church camp in North Rhine-Westphalia. Mennonites refrain from participation in military service.
exif: {"Image Make": "FUJIFILM", "Image Model": "FinePix2600Zoom", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Digital Camera FinePix2600Zoom Ver3.00", "Image DateTime": "2003:05:24 06:17:02", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "214", "EXIF FNumber": "87/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0210", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2003:05:24 06:17:02", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2003:05:24 06:17:02", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "8/5", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "39/5", "EXIF ApertureValue": "31/5", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "46/5", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "18/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "18", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1600", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1200", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "3053", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "3053", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed"}