Page 25 - History of Germany
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Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile: Germany, April 2008
Efforts to enforce these bans extend to all modes of communication, including CDs and the
Internet.
Although Germany endorses religious freedom and the separation of church and state, majority
religions, such as Protestantism and Catholicism, enjoy a privileged status. In fact, the
government recognizes them as legal corporations and collects taxes for them. Some minority
religions fare less well. For example, the government views the Church of Scientology as a cult
and a threat to democracy rather than as a legitimate religion and openly discriminates against its
members. For similar reasons, Reverend Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church has been
denied entry to the country. Several states have banned the wearing of Islamic headscarves in the
public schools, and a federal court has upheld the ban on appeal.
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