Court says Berlin schools not obligated to meet religious needs

BERLIN (RNS) With schools unable to meet the special religious needs of every devout student, educational institutions cannot be expected to provide special facilities for any of them, a Berlin court ruled Thursday (May 27). The decision by the administrative appeals court reverses a lower court decision last September that ordered a Berlin high school […]

BERLIN (RNS) With schools unable to meet the special religious needs of every devout student, educational institutions cannot be expected to provide special facilities for any of them, a Berlin court ruled Thursday (May 27).

The decision by the administrative appeals court reverses a lower court decision last September that ordered a Berlin high school to allow a Muslim student time for regular prayers during the school day.

“The state has to treat various religions and world views equally and can only guarantee the peaceful coexistence of different or even opposing religious and world perspectives when the state, itself, stays neutral on questions of belief,” the court said.


Setting aside facilities for Muslim prayers could quickly require the state to meet similar demands from other faiths, overloading its capacities and, in the case of a school, interfering with its ability to provide an education.

“The variety of religions and beliefs represented at the school, in light of limited personnel and physical resources, could disrupt its organization while not putting an end to any conflicts,” the court said.

City and school officials welcomed the decision, Der Spiegel magazine reported in its online edition. At least one German-based Turkish organization also backed the ruling, saying it allowed Berlin’s schools to put education before religion.

In a previous case, the student had successfully argued that, as a devout Muslim, he was already compromising his beliefs by limiting his prayers during the school day. He had not requested that his time for prayers take away from classroom time.

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