 seen asking the audience whether Scientologists should " clean up " the world , the audience responding with enthusiastic cheers – cheers which Gandow and Knopp felt were reminiscent of the audience 's response to Goebbels ' famous question , " Do you want total war ? " Gandow 's and Knopp 's comments found few critics in Germany . Most Germans consider Scientology a subversive organization . In 1997 , Time reported that 70 % of Germans favoured banning Scientology ; a poll conducted in September 2008 by Der Spiegel found 67 % support for a ban .   German scholars such as Brigitte Schön and Gerald Willms have commented that rhetoric dominates public discourse around Scientology in Germany : in their view , efforts to " frame " information in such a way as to shape opinion have long been more important than the underlying realities . In Schön 's words , this includes both the " efforts of German politicians to enhance their popularity with strong @-@ worded statements " and " Scientology 's efforts to present itself as the victim of unjust persecution " ; commenting on foreign reporting on Scientology in Germany , she adds that " the American press may prefer sensationalist news to boring investigation and may frame the issue according to American stereotypes " . Both Willms and Schön assert that the situation is compounded by the general paucity of scientific studies of Scientology . Schön as well as Irving Hexham , Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary in Canada , have remarked in particular on the lack of academic studies by German scholars . Hexham attributes this situation to the strong influence of the Christian churches in Germany , which has made German academics wary of approaching the subject , because they fear repercussions for their research funding and for their prospects of future employment if they involve themselves in the debate .   In 2010 a German public broadcaster , ARD , showed the film Until Nothing Remains , a dramatized account of the effect Scientology had on one German family . Said to be based on a true story , the film attracted widespread media attention and a viewership of 8 @.@ 69 million .   = = Legal status = =   While there have been calls for Scientology to be banned , the Church of Scientology remains legal in Germany and is allowed to operate there . Its precise legal status however is unresolved . Two points are contested : first , whether or not the teachings of Scientology qualify as a " religion or worldview " ( Religion or Weltanschauung ; these are equal before German law ) , and secondly , whether or not these teachings are only used as a pretext for purely commercial activity ; if the latter were the case , this would most likely imply that Scientology would not qualify for protection as a " religious or worldview community " ( Religions- oder Weltanschauungsgemeinschaft ) under Article 4 of the German constitution , which guarantees the freedom of belief , religion and worldview . Status as a " religious or worldview community " also affects a broad range of other issues in Germany , such as taxation and freedom of association .   The Federal Court of Justice of Germany has not yet made an explicit decision on the matter , but implicitly assumed in 1980 that Scientology represented a religious or worldview community . The Upper Administrative Court in Hamburg explicitly asserted in 1994 that Scientology should be viewed as a worldview community . In 1995 , the Federal Labor Court of Germany decided that the Church of Scientology merely pursued commercial aims and did not represent a religious or worldview community entitled to protection under Article 4 of the German Constitution , although another decision by the same court left the question open again in 2003 . In another 2003 decision , the Administrative Court of Baden @-@ Württemberg in Mannheim said there were no indications that the teachings of Scientology merely served as a pretext for commercial activity . In 2005 , the Federal Administrative Court of Germany explicitly granted a Scientologist protection under Article 4 @.@ 1 of the German Constitution , which declares the freedom of religion and worldview inviolate .   Many courts have declined to assess the religious status of Scientology , finding that the question was irrelevant to deciding the case at hand . The Federal Administrative Court for example ruled in 1997 that the question whether or not Scientology was a religion was irrelevant , and that its legal status should be judged by its business activities . The German government does not consider the Church of Scientology to be a religious or worldview community and asserts that Scientology is a profit @-@ making enterprise , rather than a religion . Recent years have seen a number of court decisions in Scientology 's favour , despite the very widespread negative attitude to Scientology among politicians and the general public .   = = Government surveillance = =   Given the history of Nazism 's rise to power in Germany in the 1930s , the present German state has committed itself to taking active steps to prevent the rise of any ideology that threatens the values enshrined in the German constitution . The BfV domestic intelligence service ( Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz , or Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution ) regards the aims of Scientology as running
Ġseen Ġasking Ġthe Ġaudience Ġwhether ĠScient ologists Ġshould Ġ" Ġclean Ġup Ġ" Ġthe Ġworld Ġ, Ġthe Ġaudience Ġresponding Ġwith Ġenthusiastic Ġcheers ĠâĢĵ Ġcheers Ġwhich ĠGand ow Ġand ĠK no pp Ġfelt Ġwere Ġreminiscent Ġof Ġthe Ġaudience Ġ' s Ġresponse Ġto ĠGo eb b els Ġ' Ġfamous Ġquestion Ġ, Ġ" ĠDo Ġyou Ġwant Ġtotal Ġwar Ġ? Ġ" ĠGand ow Ġ' s Ġand ĠK no pp Ġ' s Ġcomments Ġfound Ġfew Ġcritics Ġin ĠGermany Ġ. ĠMost ĠGermans Ġconsider ĠScientology Ġa Ġsubversive Ġorganization Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1997 Ġ, ĠTime Ġreported Ġthat Ġ70 Ġ% Ġof ĠGermans Ġfavoured Ġbanning ĠScientology Ġ; Ġa Ġpoll Ġconducted Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ2008 Ġby ĠDer ĠSpiegel Ġfound Ġ67 Ġ% Ġsupport Ġfor Ġa Ġban Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠGerman Ġscholars Ġsuch Ġas ĠBrig itte ĠSch Ã¶n Ġand ĠGerald ĠWill ms Ġhave Ġcommented Ġthat Ġrhetoric Ġdominates Ġpublic Ġdiscourse Ġaround ĠScientology Ġin ĠGermany Ġ: Ġin Ġtheir Ġview Ġ, Ġefforts Ġto Ġ" Ġframe Ġ" Ġinformation Ġin Ġsuch Ġa Ġway Ġas Ġto Ġshape Ġopinion Ġhave Ġlong Ġbeen Ġmore Ġimportant Ġthan Ġthe Ġunderlying Ġrealities Ġ. ĠIn ĠSch Ã¶n Ġ' s Ġwords Ġ, Ġthis Ġincludes Ġboth Ġthe Ġ" Ġefforts Ġof ĠGerman Ġpoliticians Ġto Ġenhance Ġtheir Ġpopularity Ġwith Ġstrong Ġ@ - @ Ġword ed Ġstatements Ġ" Ġand Ġ" ĠScientology Ġ' s Ġefforts Ġto Ġpresent Ġitself Ġas Ġthe Ġvictim Ġof Ġunjust Ġpersecution Ġ" Ġ; Ġcommenting Ġon Ġforeign Ġreporting Ġon ĠScientology Ġin ĠGermany Ġ, Ġshe Ġadds Ġthat Ġ" Ġthe ĠAmerican Ġpress Ġmay Ġprefer Ġsensational ist Ġnews Ġto Ġboring Ġinvestigation Ġand Ġmay Ġframe Ġthe Ġissue Ġaccording Ġto ĠAmerican Ġstereotypes Ġ" Ġ. ĠBoth ĠWill ms Ġand ĠSch Ã¶n Ġassert Ġthat Ġthe Ġsituation Ġis Ġcompounded Ġby Ġthe Ġgeneral Ġp auc ity Ġof Ġscientific Ġstudies Ġof ĠScientology Ġ. ĠSch Ã¶n Ġas Ġwell Ġas ĠIrving ĠHex ham Ġ, ĠProfessor Ġof ĠReligious ĠStudies Ġat Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠCalgary Ġin ĠCanada Ġ, Ġhave Ġremarked Ġin Ġparticular Ġon Ġthe Ġlack Ġof Ġacademic Ġstudies Ġby ĠGerman Ġscholars Ġ. ĠHex ham Ġattributes Ġthis Ġsituation Ġto Ġthe Ġstrong Ġinfluence Ġof Ġthe ĠChristian Ġchurches Ġin ĠGermany Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhas Ġmade ĠGerman Ġacademics Ġwary Ġof Ġapproaching Ġthe Ġsubject Ġ, Ġbecause Ġthey Ġfear Ġrepercussions Ġfor Ġtheir Ġresearch Ġfunding Ġand Ġfor Ġtheir Ġprospects Ġof Ġfuture Ġemployment Ġif Ġthey Ġinvolve Ġthemselves Ġin Ġthe Ġdebate Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ2010 Ġa ĠGerman Ġpublic Ġbroadcaster Ġ, ĠAR D Ġ, Ġshowed Ġthe Ġfilm ĠUntil ĠNothing ĠRem ains Ġ, Ġa Ġdram at ized Ġaccount Ġof Ġthe Ġeffect ĠScientology Ġhad Ġon Ġone ĠGerman Ġfamily Ġ. ĠSaid Ġto Ġbe Ġbased Ġon Ġa Ġtrue Ġstory Ġ, Ġthe Ġfilm Ġattracted Ġwidespread Ġmedia Ġattention Ġand Ġa Ġviewership Ġof Ġ8 Ġ@ . @ Ġ69 Ġmillion Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠLegal Ġstatus Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠWhile Ġthere Ġhave Ġbeen Ġcalls Ġfor ĠScientology Ġto Ġbe Ġbanned Ġ, Ġthe ĠChurch Ġof ĠScientology Ġremains Ġlegal Ġin ĠGermany Ġand Ġis Ġallowed Ġto Ġoperate Ġthere Ġ. ĠIts Ġprecise Ġlegal Ġstatus Ġhowever Ġis Ġunresolved Ġ. ĠTwo Ġpoints Ġare Ġcontested Ġ: Ġfirst Ġ, Ġwhether Ġor Ġnot Ġthe Ġteachings Ġof ĠScientology Ġqualify Ġas Ġa Ġ" Ġreligion Ġor Ġworldview Ġ" Ġ( ĠReligion Ġor ĠW elt ans ch au ung Ġ; Ġthese Ġare Ġequal Ġbefore ĠGerman Ġlaw Ġ) Ġ, Ġand Ġsecondly Ġ, Ġwhether Ġor Ġnot Ġthese Ġteachings Ġare Ġonly Ġused Ġas Ġa Ġpretext Ġfor Ġpurely Ġcommercial Ġactivity Ġ; Ġif Ġthe Ġlatter Ġwere Ġthe Ġcase Ġ, Ġthis Ġwould Ġmost Ġlikely Ġimply Ġthat ĠScientology Ġwould Ġnot Ġqualify Ġfor Ġprotection Ġas Ġa Ġ" Ġreligious Ġor Ġworldview Ġcommunity Ġ" Ġ( ĠRel ig ions - Ġo der ĠW elt ans ch au ung s gem e ins cha ft Ġ) Ġunder ĠArticle Ġ4 Ġof Ġthe ĠGerman Ġconstitution Ġ, Ġwhich Ġguarantees Ġthe Ġfreedom Ġof Ġbelief Ġ, Ġreligion Ġand Ġworldview Ġ. ĠStatus Ġas Ġa Ġ" Ġreligious Ġor Ġworldview Ġcommunity Ġ" Ġalso Ġaffects Ġa Ġbroad Ġrange Ġof Ġother Ġissues Ġin ĠGermany Ġ, Ġsuch Ġas Ġtaxation Ġand Ġfreedom Ġof Ġassociation Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠFederal ĠCourt Ġof ĠJustice Ġof ĠGermany Ġhas Ġnot Ġyet Ġmade Ġan Ġexplicit Ġdecision Ġon Ġthe Ġmatter Ġ, Ġbut Ġimplicitly Ġassumed Ġin Ġ1980 Ġthat ĠScientology Ġrepresented Ġa Ġreligious Ġor Ġworldview Ġcommunity Ġ. ĠThe ĠUpper ĠAdministrative ĠCourt Ġin ĠHamburg Ġexplicitly Ġasserted Ġin Ġ1994 Ġthat ĠScientology Ġshould Ġbe Ġviewed Ġas Ġa Ġworldview Ġcommunity Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1995 Ġ, Ġthe ĠFederal ĠLabor ĠCourt Ġof ĠGermany Ġdecided Ġthat Ġthe ĠChurch Ġof ĠScientology Ġmerely Ġpursued Ġcommercial Ġaims Ġand Ġdid Ġnot Ġrepresent Ġa Ġreligious Ġor Ġworldview Ġcommunity Ġentitled Ġto Ġprotection Ġunder ĠArticle Ġ4 Ġof Ġthe ĠGerman ĠConstitution Ġ, Ġalthough Ġanother Ġdecision Ġby Ġthe Ġsame Ġcourt Ġleft Ġthe Ġquestion Ġopen Ġagain Ġin Ġ2003 Ġ. ĠIn Ġanother Ġ2003 Ġdecision Ġ, Ġthe ĠAdministrative ĠCourt Ġof ĠBad en Ġ@ - @ ĠW Ã¼r tt ember g Ġin ĠMann heim Ġsaid Ġthere Ġwere Ġno Ġindications Ġthat Ġthe Ġteachings Ġof ĠScientology Ġmerely Ġserved Ġas Ġa Ġpretext Ġfor Ġcommercial Ġactivity Ġ. ĠIn Ġ2005 Ġ, Ġthe ĠFederal ĠAdministrative ĠCourt Ġof ĠGermany Ġexplicitly Ġgranted Ġa ĠScient ologist Ġprotection Ġunder ĠArticle Ġ4 Ġ@ . @ Ġ1 Ġof Ġthe ĠGerman ĠConstitution Ġ, Ġwhich Ġdeclares Ġthe Ġfreedom Ġof Ġreligion Ġand Ġworldview Ġinv iol ate Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMany Ġcourts Ġhave Ġdeclined Ġto Ġassess Ġthe Ġreligious Ġstatus Ġof ĠScientology Ġ, Ġfinding Ġthat Ġthe Ġquestion Ġwas Ġirrelevant Ġto Ġdeciding Ġthe Ġcase Ġat Ġhand Ġ. ĠThe ĠFederal ĠAdministrative ĠCourt Ġfor Ġexample Ġruled Ġin Ġ1997 Ġthat Ġthe Ġquestion Ġwhether Ġor Ġnot ĠScientology Ġwas Ġa Ġreligion Ġwas Ġirrelevant Ġ, Ġand Ġthat Ġits Ġlegal Ġstatus Ġshould Ġbe Ġjudged Ġby Ġits Ġbusiness Ġactivities Ġ. ĠThe ĠGerman Ġgovernment Ġdoes Ġnot Ġconsider Ġthe ĠChurch Ġof ĠScientology Ġto Ġbe Ġa Ġreligious Ġor Ġworldview Ġcommunity Ġand Ġasserts Ġthat ĠScientology Ġis Ġa Ġprofit Ġ@ - @ Ġmaking Ġenterprise Ġ, Ġrather Ġthan Ġa Ġreligion Ġ. ĠRecent Ġyears Ġhave Ġseen Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġcourt Ġdecisions Ġin ĠScientology Ġ' s Ġfavour Ġ, Ġdespite Ġthe Ġvery Ġwidespread Ġnegative Ġattitude Ġto ĠScientology Ġamong Ġpoliticians Ġand Ġthe Ġgeneral Ġpublic Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠGovernment Ġsurveillance Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠGiven Ġthe Ġhistory Ġof ĠNaz ism Ġ' s Ġrise Ġto Ġpower Ġin ĠGermany Ġin Ġthe Ġ1930 s Ġ, Ġthe Ġpresent ĠGerman Ġstate Ġhas Ġcommitted Ġitself Ġto Ġtaking Ġactive Ġsteps Ġto Ġprevent Ġthe Ġrise Ġof Ġany Ġideology Ġthat Ġthreatens Ġthe Ġvalues Ġenshr ined Ġin Ġthe ĠGerman Ġconstitution Ġ. ĠThe ĠB f V Ġdomestic Ġintelligence Ġservice Ġ( ĠBundes am t Ġf Ã¼r ĠVer f ass ung ss ch utz Ġ, Ġor ĠFederal ĠOffice Ġfor Ġthe ĠProtection Ġof Ġthe ĠConstitution Ġ) Ġregards Ġthe Ġaims Ġof ĠScientology Ġas Ġrunning