Government publications on the dangers of sects increased between 1996 and 1998 , and a significant number of them dealt with the Church of Scientology . The German courts had approved such publications in 1989 , seeing them as part of the government 's responsibility to keep the public informed , and finding that they did not interfere with religious freedom . In 1996 , the German parliament launched an Enquete ( Enquiry ) Commission to investigate sects and similar groups , in large part because of public concerns about Scientology . Its final report , published in June 1998 , concluded that Scientology , alone among new religious movements , required monitoring by Germany 's domestic intelligence services .