The U.S. Department of State 's 2012 report on religious freedom in Germany , published in 2013 , stated that " The status of the Church of Scientology remains in limbo . The Constitutional Court and various courts at the state level have not explicitly ruled that Scientology is a religion . Government agencies at the federal and state level have rules and procedures that discriminate against Scientology as a group and against its members . Four of the major political parties ( the Christian Democratic Union , Christian Social Union , Social Democratic Party , and Free Democratic Party ) ban Scientologists from party membership . [ ... ] Scientologists reported instances of governmental discrimination . Although courts at the state and federal level condemned the improper use of so @-@ called ' sect filters ' to blacklist and boycott Scientologists , they remained in use in the public sector . ' Sect filters ' typically asked potential new employees to confirm in writing that they had no contact with Scientology , did not participate in its training courses , and rejected its doctrines . [ ... ] Catholic and Protestant churches continued to oppose Scientology publically [ sic ] , although press reporting and public reactions to Scientology decreased . Several private organizations issued warnings about after @-@ school study programs run by Scientologists . "