The New Inquisitors

1. Auflage 2003
ISBN: 978-3-929351-20-0
Verlag: Editions La Colombe

Buch, Englisch, 434 Seiten, PB, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 700 g

Religious freedom is a fundamental right guaranteed in the constitutions of most modern democratic nations. Germany is among these nations, but conflicts persist, especially between German state churches and religious minorities. Minority religions in Germany today routinely must defend themselves against institutionalized mistrust, bias, and occasionally, outright persecution not only by officials of favored religions, but also by government officials themselves. Indeed, despite constitutional guarantees, the right to religious freedom for all German citizens and religious groups is not being realized.

In 1996, a special body, The Enquete Commission, was appointed by the German Parliament to investigate so-called “sects and psychogroups.” Unfortunately, the religious communities who were investigated were given no chance to react to allegations made against them. The commission’s findings, based on almost no credible evidence, referred to certain religious minorities as dangerous and suspect and recommended that surveillance of these groups be continued. The commission’s findings, therefore, did little to strengthen the free exercise of religion in Germany but rather exacerbated a climate of hysteria about certain religious groups whose members have been described by respected experts as some of Germany’s best citizens.

This volume gathers expert opinions, petitions, appeals and statements pertaining to the status of religious minorities in Germany today. The findings support the notion that indeed, there is an unnecessary “New Inquisition” taking place in Germany today. Special attention is paid to comparing the treatment of religious minorities in other countries, especially the United States where religious pluralism, and the accompanying difficulties of granting religious freedom to all religious groups, is perhaps more a reality than in any other nations of the world.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Besier, Gerhard

Scheuch, Erwin Kurt

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface (Gerhard Besier and Erwin K. Scheuch) 5
Contributors 7
Introduction (Gerhard Besier and Erwin K. Scheuch) 10

Part One: Essays

The State and the Salvation of the Soul (Hermann Lübbe) 23
Trends of Religious Culture In Processes of Modernization (Hermann Lübbe) 27
Religious Minorities and Moral Panics (Massimo Introvigne) 39
Religious Equality vs. Religious Discrimination (James E. Wood, Jr.) 52
Tolerance and Fairness as Objective Principles of the Guarantee of Freedom of Religion (Heinrich Scholler) 64
Minor Religions in the State's Legal Order (Hermann Weber) 74
State-Imposed Restrictions on the Freedom of Minority Churches (Heinrich Wilms) 97
When Legislators Play "Guardian Angels" Religious Freedom is Endangered (Johannes Neumann) 109
"Off to the Merry Hunt": Experiences with Manichaeans (Konrad Löw) 127
No "Faith Control" (Hans Apel) 136
State "Guardian Angels" Are Unnecessary (Erwin K. Scheuch) 143
Recommendations of the Sect Commission Regarding Legal Policy (Martin Kriele) 159
The State as a Religious Party Faithful? About the Contradictions of the Majority Report of the German Enquete Commission (Hubert Seiwert) 180
Is an "Act on Life-Counseling Services" Necessary? (Gerhard Besier) 192
Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Discussing the Problem of Sects (Heiner Barz) 201
The Fundamentalism of the Modern (Age) (Martin Kriele) 207
Fascist Elements of the "Sect Hunt" (Martin Kriele) 215
The Permanently Paranoid Perspective of the "Sect Commissioners," Illustrated by the Example of the Negative Evaluation of the Unification Church (Jürgen Redhardt) 222
Nine "Golden" Rules for New Inquisitors (Hubertus Mynarek) 232
Religious Freedom: A Rabbi's Perspective (Kenneth B. Fradkin) 242
Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany: A Struggle for Recognition (Gabriele Yonan) 249

Part Two: Documents

Is the German State Taking Part in the Defamation of and Discrimination Against Religious and Ideological Minorities? An Open Society Needs no Ideological Controls
(Hans Apel, Gerhard Besier, Niels Birbaumer, Martin Kriele, Hermann Lübbe, and Erwin K. Scheuch) 259
Jehovah's Witnesses/Wachtturm-Gesellschaft: A "Pre-Modern" Religious Association in a "Modern" Society? Expert Opinion (Gerhard Besier and Renate-Maria Besier) 265
Jehovah's Witnesses as Corporation Under Public Law (Armin Pikl and Gajus Glockentin) 347
Petition of the Unification Church of Germany for the Ending of the Discrimination of a Religious Minority (Unification Church) 396
The Discrimination of the Original Christians in Universelles Leben in Germany (Christian Sailer and Gert-Joachim Hetzel) 417

Leseproben

Continental Europe seems to have a problem: the so-called "sects and psychogroups". Governments in France, Germany, Belgium, and Austria started proceeding against the alleged "dangers" spreading from these groups with the help of parliamentary commissions and laws in recent years. Between 1996 and 1998 a unique chain of events unfolded in Germany. The German Bundestag (Federal Parliament) empowered a largely self-selected "Commission to Observe Sects and Psychogroups". It was the declared goal of the proponents of this committee not merely to alert the public that there might be problematic developments under the guise of religion. The prime purpose was to specify the basis for a tax-financed foundation to monitor the activity of sects and psychogroups. The foundation would institutionalize the training of observers, and only certified observers could then act as experts in court cases. At the time of the institutionalization of the Enquete Commission, there was a media inflation of reports about questionable practices of such sects as the "Moonies" or Scientologists - to name but a few (including Jehovah's Witnesses) that were singled out by the Commission as objects wanting close observation. This lead to widespread discrimination by public employers. Formal resolutions called for a ban on employing members of such religious groupings. If they were already public servants and their allegiance to one of these "sects" became known, their files in the employment offices were marked - as for example in the case of Scientologists with an "S". Systematic research resulted in the finding that only 0.7 percent of the adult population of Germany were members or close to one of these groupings. Why institutionalize a society-wide system of monitoring beliefs? A group of important intellectual figures called into question whether governmental institutions should be in the business of monitoring beliefs at all. A parallel to the McCarthy days in the USA was mentioned. The counter-position taken in this volume on the controversy about the freedom of beliefs is the stance that the state may regulate behavior only. And if proponents of society-wide monitoring argued that a sort of consumer protection was needed to shield citizens from the suggestive techniques of persuasion practiced by these groups, the group of public figures pointed to the freedom granted to campaigns in politics and advertising for consumer products: in a democracy we respect people as adults to make their own choices in view even of seductive forms of influence, and to bear the consequences of these freedoms. The wished for regulation of persuasive practices did not end with religious groups but included organized advice to citizens if this was offered by groups unconnected with the established churches, up to and embracing management training courses involving tactics of psychic pressure. Germany has a special legal provision for the established churches: Roman Catholicism and various Protestant denominations. Groups affiliated with these churches enjoy tax-free status, and for the established churches the tax offices collect a surcharge of nine percent on income tax. The groups under attack enjoy none of these privileges. They do not ask for them. What they do ask is to be left alone when their activities might overlap with that of church affiliated organizations. In Part one, well known intellectual figures from several countries argue against regulating beliefs and practices that are accepted for established churches, political parties and business. In doing so they analyze forms of constraint and outright intimidation that are unbelievable for a society that thinks of itself as being liberal. In the second part, the groupings under attack argue their case. The two parts together present an overview of a development where under the guise of patronizing protectionism and established morality, the freedom of developing dissent ways of beliefs and lifestyles is curtailed. The original German version of this book appeared in 1999 (Fromm Publishing House, Osnabrrck). In the meantime, one of our authors, Derek H. Davis, has published his contribution "Religious Persecution in Today's Germany: Old Habits Renewed" in his book Religious Liberty in Northern Europe in the Twenty-First Century (Waco, 2000, pp.107-124). We therefore omitted it in this volume. We are indebted to all those who made substantial contributions to this book and to those who rendered its publication possible by giving us some moral and financial support.

Gerhard Besier and Erwin K. Scheuch

Heidelberg and Cologne, December 2002

Über Autor(innen)

Hans Apel, born 1932, Dr. rer. pol., former minister in the German Federal Government, honorary professor at the Department of Political Economy of the University of Rostock.

Heiner Barz, born 1957, Dr. phil., substitute professor for educational science at the University of Frankfurt on the Main.

Gerhard Besier, born 1947, Dr. theol., Dr. phil., Dipl. Psychologist. Since 2003, director of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism in Dresden. Occasional guest lectures at the Department of History of Stanford University (California) since 1994. 1997 awarded the Research prize by the Historical College of the Foundation for Scientific Research in Germany (Historisches Kolleg im Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft), Munich.

Renate-Maria Besier, born 1959, Dipl. Pedagogist, Dipl. Psychologist; psychotherapist.

Niels Birbaumer, born 1945, Dr. phil.; former professor at the Department of clinical and physiological psychology (1975–1993) and, since 1993, professor of medical psychology and behavioral neurobiology at the University of Tübingen. Since 1989, also professore straniero at the University of Padua. Received the Leibniz-Award in 1995.

Kenneth B. Fradkin, born 1951, Rabbinical Ordination, Ph.D. in Synagogue Management; Sixth Year Professional Diploma and Masters in Education, Spiritual Leader of the Jewish Center of Sussex County in Newton, NJ; Judaic Faculty member at the Hebrew Day School of Morris County in Randolph, NJ. Member of the American Association of Rabbis, Jewish Educator’s Assembly, President of the Council of Rabbis for Religious Freedom.

Gajus Glockentin, born 1967, management expert.

Gert-Joachim Hetzel, born 1947, Dr. jur., former district court judge, lawyer.

Massimo Introvigne, born 1955, Dr. jur., director of the CESNUR (Center for Studies of New Religions) in Torino, Italy. He has written and edited several books about new religious movements.

Martin Kriele, born 1931, Dr. jur., professor emeritus of general state law and public right, former judge at the Constitutional Court of the Land North Rhine-Westphalia.

Konrad Löw, born 1931, Dr. jur.; professor for political science at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg from 1972–1975, since 1975, working in Bayreuth.

Hermann Lübbe, born 1926, Dr. phil., former state secretary, was professor of philosophy and theory of politics at the University of Zurich from 1971–1991. He has been an honorary professor since 1991.

H. Newton Malony, born 1931, M.D., M.S., Ph.D. (clinical psychology). Senior Professor at the Graduate School of Psychology of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena (California) since 1969.

Hubertus Mynarek, born 1929, Dr. theol., Lic. phil., specialized in comparative science of religions and theology of the bases of belief, formerly taught as professor at the Universities of Bamberg and Vienna.

Johannes Neumann, born 1929, Lic. iur. can., Dr. iur. can., professor of religious law and sociology of law at the University of Tübingen since 1966.

Armin Pikl, born 1959, lawyer.

Jürgen Redhardt, born 1926, Dr. theol., Dipl. Psychologist, was an active (parish) minister for twelve years, and professor of religious psychology and didactics at the University of Giessen from 1965 to 1991.

Rainer Rothe, born 1964, lawyer.

Christian Sailer, born 1935, Dr. jur., lawyer.

Erwin K. Scheuch, 1928-2003, Dr. rer. pol., professor emeritus of sociology, director of the ‘Institut für angewandte Sozialforschung’ (‘Institute of Applied Social Science’) of the Department of Sociology of the University of Cologne.

Heinrich Scholler, born 1929, Dipl. sc. pol., Dr. jur.; professor of state and administrative law and philosophy of jurisdiction and state at the University of Munich since 1975.

Hubert Seiwert, born 1949, Dr. phil.; professor of religious science in Hannover from 1985 to 1994, professor of general and comparative religious science at the University of Leipzig since 1994.

Bassam Tibi, born 1944, graduated in social sciences, philosophy and history in Frankfurt am Main, is now professor of international relations at the University of Göttingen and, since 1998, Bosch Harvard Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and, since 2003, Visiting Professor for Islamology at the University of St. Gallen.

Hermann Weber, born 1936, Dr. jur., lawyer. Honorary professor of public law at the University of Frankfurt am Main since 1984.

Heinrich Wilms, born 1959, Dr. iur. utr., Assessor iur., is professor of public law, philosophy of law, international and European law at the Department of Jurisprudence of the University of Konstanz since 1996.

James E. Wood, Jr., born 1922, M.A., Th.M., Ph.D., LL.D., Dr. h.c., is professor of state-church-studies and was, from 1958 to 1973, the first director of the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State-Studies, now directed by Derek Davis. Chairman of the International Academy for Freedom and Religious Belief since 1990. Founding co-editor of the Journal of Church and State.

Gabriele Yonan, born 1944, Ph.D.; Oriental studies and studies of religious science. She teaches Oriental linguistics, literature and religions and lives in Berlin.