German Federal Constitutional Court on the freedom of confession and conscience

Freedom of conscience and confession is a right of every human being to profess a chosen religion or not to practice any religion and to practice it freely without consequences in the form of discrimination or privileging. Sometimes the implementation of this right is hindered by institutional solutions, tradition and prejudices, which prompts an individual to take legal steps. In Germany, the courts competent to consider cases in this field are the courts of general jurisdiction in the Länder. The Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) deals with constitutional complaints about violations of the right of freedom of conscience, confession and religion by public authorities, shaping the standards of protection of this right in Germany. The article presents a wide spectrum of judgments regarding discriminatory treatment of a person because of their religion and beliefs, equality of churches and denominations and the state policy towards churches. These judgments prove that religious freedom is not treated by the Tribunal as absolute freedom