Germany finally, No Citizen Should Be Asked to Break with Their Faith

Brussels, 15 May 2026 — The European Office of the Church of Scientology for Public Affairs and Human Rights welcomes media reports that Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has ended federal-level surveillance of Scientology after nearly thirty years.

Ivan Arjona, representative of the Church of Scientology to the European Union, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the United Nations, stated:

“This is good news for Germany, for Europe, and for the rule of law. After almost three decades, the reported end of federal surveillance confirms what Scientologists have maintained all along: religious minorities must be judged by facts and conduct, not by suspicion, political pressure or inherited prejudice.”

For decades, German Scientologists have faced social and professional exclusion linked to official suspicion, including the use of so-called “faith-breaker clauses” — declarations requiring individuals or organisations to distance themselves from Scientology in order to access employment, public grants, contracts or other opportunities.

“The end of surveillance cannot be the end of responsibility,” Arjona said. “German Scientologists have endured years of discrimination, loss of opportunities and public stigma. Redress must now begin with the complete elimination of all faith-breaker clauses throughout Germany.”

The Church of Scientology and its parishioners in Germany have repeatedly sought dialogue with federal and state Offices for the Protection of the Constitution. Concerns regarding discrimination against Scientologists have also been raised in international human rights forums, including the United Nations Human Rights Council and OSCE human dimension discussions.

“German Scientologists persisted against all odds,” Arjona added. “They defended their faith, their families and their constitutional rights through courts, public dialogue and international institutions. Their perseverance is a reminder that freedom of religion or belief is truly meaningful only when it protects unpopular or misunderstood minorities.”

The European Office calls on all remaining German state authorities to follow this federal reassessment, end any continuing surveillance of Scientology, and remove all discriminatory administrative practices connected to it.

“A democratic state should not ask citizens to break with their faith as a condition for equal treatment,” Arjona concluded. “This moment should open the door to fairness, transparency and full respect for the rights of Scientologists as equal citizens before the law.”