page_title: Freedom of religion in Germany
section_title: Crucifix Decision
hierarchical_section_title: Freedom of religion in Germany / Legal situation / Individual freedom of religion / Crucifix Decision
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. 18.12.1989 Bundesverfassungsgericht Karlsruhe II. Senat in alter Zusammensetzung (bis 1.12.1989) v.li. Dr. Everhardt Franßen, Konrad Kruis, Prof. Dr.Dr. Ernst Wolfgang Böckenförde, Vizepräsident Dr. Ernst Gottfried Mahrenholz, Ernst Träger, Prof. Dr. Hans Hugo Klein, Dr. Karin Graßhof, Dr. Paul Kirchhof
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: In the Crucifix Decision the German Federal Constitution Court in 1995 decreed a law that insisted on the presence of religious symbols (crucifixes) in public institutions to be illegal, excluding in some Roman Catholic elementary schools. The court further demanded that the symbols must be removed if a parent does not agree with them. In 1973, a Jew complained successfully that his freedom of religion was violated by the obligation to speak in a German courtroom decorated by a cross.
caption: Federal Constitutional Court judges, 1989
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