Access of Muslim Organizations to Religious Instruction in Public Schools: A Comment on the Decision of the Federal Administrative Court of 23 February 2005

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 1319-1334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Zacharias
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Church And State ◽  
German Law ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Religious Instruction ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Racial Hatred ◽  
Legal Questions ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
German Federal States

In the last years, several Muslim associations applied at the competent Ministries of Education of the German Federal States for the introduction of Islamic religious instruction in public schools. These applications raise a series of legal questions, in particular, whether the States are obliged to allow associations to teach their version of Islam in schools. Of particular concern is that this religious instruction may not have a religious purpose, but rather a political, or even militant or criminal, purpose. Further, there is the possibility that the associations may invite students to take part in a “holy war”, to call for racial hatred, or to proclaim that women were inferior human beings. The answer to these questions is laid down in Article 7 paragraph 3 of the German Basic Law which is a typical provision of the German Law on Church and State that is molded not by a strict separation or laicism as it is, for instance, in France but by a cooperation of the State and the religious communities.

Konfessionell-kooperativer Religionsunterricht. Zwischenbilanz und Zukunftsperspektiven

2020 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-28
Author(s):  
Henrik Simojoki ◽  
Jan Woppowa
Keyword(s):  
Religious Education ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Educational Innovations ◽  
Regional Variations ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Protestant Church ◽  
Current State ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
German Federal States ◽  
Further Development

Abstract Enshrined in the Basic Law, Religious Education (RE) in Germany at schools is .confessional. - and hence closely linked to the religious communities, in particular the Catholic and the Protestant church. This does, however, not imply a mono-denominational structure (and even less a catechetical approach) of RE in Germany. On the contrary, due to the ongoing pluralisation, educational innovations and ecumenical progress, inter-denominational cooperation has become a decisive feature of RE in Germany in the last decades, with a plurality of forms and regional variations. This article gives an overview over the current state of this specific type of RE in German federal states. It accentuates conceptual innovations and structural improvements, but also critically reflects on some underlying tendencies which contradict the basic ecumenical and inclusive intention of inter-denominational cooperation. Finally, perspectives for further development are presented.

Finding a Place for Islam in Germany: Islamic Organisations under Private and Public Law

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 419-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riem Spielhaus ◽  
Martin Herzog
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
German Law ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Federal States ◽  
German Federal States ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Islam In Germany

While in current debates on Islam in Germany recognition is often reduced to incorporation of Islamic organisations under public law, this article demonstrates that German law provides a variety of legal instruments that allow for public involvement of religious communities incorporated under private law. Despite the formal separation of state institutions and religious communities, German law encourages collaboration and visibility of religion in public space. This corresponds with the German constitutional framework that locates religion not (only) in the private, but also in the public sphere. Presenting insights from legal and Islamic studies, this article portrays recent legal measures such as new legislation and treaties concluded by German federal states (Bundesländer) and Islamic organisations that enable Muslim religious practice in public space, like prison chaplaincy and burial according to Islamic rites.

Reproductive rights: Legal aspects of the right to sterilisation

Stanovnistvo ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 39 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 119-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajrija Mujovic-Zornic
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Free Choice ◽  
Reproductive Rights ◽  
German Law ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Penal Policy ◽  
Abortion Law ◽  
Legal Questions ◽  
The Right ◽  
Voluntary Sterilization

In this paper the author discusses the nature and importance of the right to reproduce, in particular the right to sterilisation. In the time past sterilization has been practiced only as a measure of penal policy or the prevention of mental health diseases. Today, mostly we can speak about the right to sterilization (especially reversible sterilization). The patient have a free choice to decide any method of contraception and that could be a voluntary sterilization (also called human, contraceptive, non-therapeutical in French law, and obliging in German law). Various legal questions about this right can be raised, in accordance of state of reproductive rights (how they are regulated by the law) and the protection of reproductive rights (especially the right of pregnant woman as a patient). Yugoslav law not yet has a complete regulation and adequate solutions in this area, except the abortion law. The primary gynecology care has contraceptive counseling, but concrete measures and education are insufficient. It cannot begin to give consistent answers to all of these questions without a coherent conception of the right to reproduce, which is the primary duty of legal experts.

International Treaties and The German Constitution

2019 ◽  
pp. 171-190
Author(s):  
Stefan Kadelbach
Keyword(s):  
German Law ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
The Status ◽  
German Constitution ◽  
Federal Constitutional

This chapter deals with the making, status, and interpretation of international treaties under the German Constitution. It describes the interrelationship of the different institutions in treaty-making and shows how a comparatively old provision of the German Basic Law has been adapted slowly to new circumstances over the past decades. Thus, even though foreign affairs has remained a domain of the executive, several developments have contributed to an enhanced role of Parliament over time. These developments are partly due to the role of special sectors of law such as EU law and the law governing the use of force and partly due to changes in constitutional practice. As for the status of treaties in German law, the Federal Constitutional Court has developed a stance according to which treaties generally share the rank of the legal act that implements them into domestic law. A notable exception is the European Convention of Human Rights, which has assumed a quasi-constitutional rank by means of consistent interpretation. Some reference is made to other continental systems to assess how far different constitutions bring about certain features; various systems appear similar in many respects at first sight, whereas features in which they differ may be a source of inspiration for future constitutional practice.

A Look Back: Church, state, and Kappan

2021 ◽  
Vol 102 (5) ◽  
pp. 5-7
Author(s):  
Teresa Preston
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
School Policy ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Religious Instruction ◽  
Look Back ◽  
Diverse World ◽  
Supreme Court Rulings ◽  
Role Of Religion

In this monthly column, Kappan managing editor Teresa Preston looks back at how the magazine has covered questions related to the role of religion in public schools. Authors considered how Supreme Court rulings affected school policy and practice, whether religious instruction is necessary for promoting positive values, and how to encourage respect in a religiously diverse world.

Celebrating the Milk Maid: What Federal Constitutional Court President Limbach Doesn't Tell Us About the Court Says It All

2001 ◽  
Vol 2 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktor Winkler
Keyword(s):  
German Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Limited Size ◽  
Small Stature ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
Federal Constitutional ◽  
Law Student

It's a small book. Actually, it is a very small book. Only one hundred and twenty-eight pages, it's a format so thin it could fit into a pocket. As a matter of fact, it is smaller than a copy of the Grundgesetz (German Basic Law) that a German law student would carry along to class. The book's title, however, is considerably more intrepid than the book's small stature. At the same time breathtakingly pithy and slightly immodest, the book is simply called Das Bundesverfassungsgericht (The Federal Constitutional Court). And at the top of the cover, just to make sure, the word “WISSEN” (KNOWLEDGE) appears in big letters. While one wonders how a publication of such limited size could deign to comprehensively present the important “knowledge” of the Federal Constitutional Court, the other words on the cover provide some assurance. Those words are the name of the book's author who obviously could not be more adequate for the task. The author, Jutta Limbach, is the current President of the Federal Constitutional Court presiding in her seventh year.

scholarly journals Kleinstaaterei im Dienstrecht der deutschen Bundesländer

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolai Dose ◽  
Felix Wolfes ◽  
Carolin Burmester
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Human Resource Managers ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
German Federal States

With the federalism reform of 2006, the German federal states gained legislative power over their civil servants. This did not only lead to a substantial difference in pay levels but also to fragmented civil service regulations with different degrees of attractiveness. Requests to move to another state have created various problems in the different areas of the civil service. They are partly caused by the fragmented regulations and partly by an informal agreement between the states. By making use of an online survey among human resource managers in the different areas of public administration and 32 case studies of civil servants who either aspire to move to or have moved to another state, this book systematically identifies and analyses civil servants’ motivations for and hindrances to doing so. In this way, it reveals both obstructive and conducive factors which explain mobility. Moreover, the authors put forward some reform proposals.

scholarly journals Regional differences in reasons for consultation and general practitioners’ spectrum of services in Northern Germany – Results of a cross-sectional observational study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingmar Schäfer ◽  
Heike Hansen ◽  
Thomas Ruppel ◽  
Dagmar Lühmann ◽  
Hans-Otto Wagner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Observational Study ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Practice Trial ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Federal States ◽  
German Federal States ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Individual Consultation

Abstract Background Among other factors, the patients’ consultation reasons and GPs’ spectrum of services determine the process and outcome of the medical treatment. So far, however, there has been little information on differences in reasons for consultation and GPs’ services between urban and rural areas. Our study’s goal was thus to investigate these factors in relation to the regional location of GPs’ practices. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional observational study based on standardised GP interviews in a quota sampling design. All counties and independent cities within a radius of 120 km around Hamburg were divided into three regional categories (urban area, environs, rural area) and stratified proportionally to the population size. Differences in the number of reasons for consultation and services were analysed by multivariate linear regressions in mixed models adjusted for random effects on the levels of the German federal states and administrative districts. Differences in individual consultation reasons and services were identified by logistic regression via stepwise forward and backward selection. Results Primary care practices in 34 of the 37 selected administrative districts (91.9%) were represented in the dataset. In total, 211 GPs were personally interviewed. On average, GPs saw 344 patients per month with a slightly higher number of patients in rural areas. They reported 59.1 ± 15.4 different reasons for consultation and 30.3 + 3.9 different services. There was no statistically significant regional variation in the number of different consultation reasons, but there was a broader service spectrum by rural GPs (ß=-1.42; 95% confidence interval -2.75/-0.08; p=0.038) which was statistically explained by a higher level of medical training. Additionally, there were differences in the frequency of individual consultation reasons and services between rural and urban areas. Conclusion GPs in rural areas performed more frequently services usually provided by medical specialists in urban areas. This might be caused by a low availability of specialists in rural areas. The association between medical training and service spectrum might imply that GPs compensate the specific needs of their patients by completing advanced medical training before or after setting up a medical practice. Trial registration The study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02558322).

scholarly journals d) Colombia: Extreme Negative Case Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 319-328
Author(s):  
Jason García Portilla
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Negative Case ◽  
The Social ◽  
Colombian Government ◽  
Violent Conflicts

AbstractThe vital role of Roman Catholicism in establishing the social, political, institutional, and religious status quo in Colombia is plainly evident and well-documented. Since the Middle Ages, no other country has enforced such a complete integration of church and state (ideal medieval Christendom), as reflected in Colombia’s Concordat. In Colombia, liberal attempts failed repeatedly and resulted in violent conflicts in which the Roman Catholic Church-State closed ranks with conservatives and imposed a corporatist medieval-like state. The largely successful project pursued by the Roman Church-State in Colombia (so-called Christilandia) consists of three pillars: (1) political (a confessional state); (2) economic (a corporatist state); and (3) cultural (a Catholic and conservative “Hispanicism”).In the 1991 Constitution, Protestantism allied itself with liberal forces. This alliance made it possible to finally introduce religious freedom, among others, by removing most of the contentious articles from the Concordat (nevertheless, the Concordat remains valid, as does institutional corporatism). In spite of these reforms, the Colombian government is still required to pay a fee to the Roman See. Religious instruction in public schools according to the Roman Church Magisterium for Catholics also remains firmly in place. Colombia remains one of the most inequitable and dangerous countries in the world.

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