Religious Symbols in Germany

LAW, RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS AND EDUCATION IN EUROPE, M. Hunter-Henin, ed., Ashgate, Cultural Diversity and Law series, 2011

36 Pages Posted: 16 Nov 2010 Last revised: 22 Mar 2011

See all articles by Tobias Lock

Tobias Lock

Maynooth University Department of Law

Date Written: November 15, 2010

Abstract

The paper is concerned with religious symbols in Germany. It mainly focuses on decisions by the Federal Constitutional Court on religious symbols in schools. Court had to deal with two landmark cases concerning the topic of religious symbols. The facts and the outcome of the first decision very much resemble those in the recent Lautsi case: the parents of a child objected to a Bavarian law requiring that a crucifix be affixed in every class room. The Court regarded this as a violation of the student’s freedom of religion. The second case added another dimension: the school authority refused to employ a Muslim teacher who insisted on wearing a headscarf in class. In that case not only the students’ freedom of religion was at issue but also that of the teacher. The Court managed to avoid a ruling on this conflict of fundamental rights by arguing that the school authority had acted without a legislative basis, which made the refusal to employ the teacher illegal. The paper will look at the arguments made in the academic discussion and by inferior courts (most importantly by the Federal Administrative Court). Furthermore, it will examine the reaction by the legislatures of the Länder, which ranged from categorically banning all religious symbols to allowing only those which are in accordance with ‘Christian and occidental cultural and educational values’, a provision which was upheld by the Bavarian Constitutional Court. The paper also discusses unsuccessful challenges under anti-discrimination law as well as the possibilities of banning religious symbols worn by students.

Suggested Citation

Lock, Tobias, Religious Symbols in Germany (November 15, 2010). LAW, RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS AND EDUCATION IN EUROPE, M. Hunter-Henin, ed., Ashgate, Cultural Diversity and Law series, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1709291

Tobias Lock (Contact Author)

Maynooth University Department of Law ( email )

Maynooth, County Kildare
Ireland

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