Switch from religion to ethics

Right to deregister from religion as a school subject

The possibility to switch from religion to ethics is based on the Basic Law, the Religious Child Education Act and the respective state school regulations.

• Of the Art. 7 para. 3 sentence 1 The Basic Law stipulates that, with a few exceptions, religious instruction must be given in schools. All religious communities can insist that classes for the respective denomination. In Germany Therefore, lessons in Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran religion must be given. Other religious communities do not require that their religious teaching be a school subject.
• Paragraph 2 of Article 7 of the Basic Law states that the legal guardians decide whether to participate in religious instruction. This means that you have the right to refuse your child to take part in religious education at any time. From this, adult pupils can decide for themselves whether they want to take part in religious instruction.
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• According to the Religious Child Education Act (RelKErzG), there are special regulations for children between 12 and 18 years of age, as religious maturity begins at the age of 14. A child can therefore decide to withdraw from a religious community at the age of 14 and can consequently no longer be forced to attend religious instruction.

Note: The Ethics subject was introduced to allow students who do not Religious education complete the same number of hours as all students in their class. Schools must also supervise students under the age of 18. In many schools, however, ethics classes are not given.

Switch to ethics

The legal status of the subject ethics is regulated differently in the federal states. Depending on the state, you will automatically switch to ethics or you will have to register when you deregister from religion. In some countries completely different regulations are made.

• If you are in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Hesse, respectively living in Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein, ethics is a substitute subject for Religion. Classes are compulsory if you or your child are not attending any denominational class. When you deregister from the subject religion, you automatically switch to the subject ethics.
• In the states of Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, ethics and religion are optional subjects. Parents or students decide freely which subject they want to take. However, since religion has a priority, students must withdraw from the subject of religion before taking ethics. By deregistering from the subject Religion, you do not automatically switch to Ethics. However, you are obliged to choose this subject if you are not attending religious instruction.
• In Berlin, Brandenburg and Bremen you have no choice because there is no conventional religious education related to a specific denomination. Ethics is a normal subject in Berlin, and religious education can also be taken. Non-denominational lessons take place in Bremen. In Brandenburg, classes in lifestyle, ethics and religion (LER) are compulsory. However, students can opt out of this subject in favor of religion or combine LER lessons with religion.

The respective regional school regulations take into account both the Basic Law and the RelKErzG. The decision is considered a decision of conscience and must not be questioned by the schools.

What to consider when making a decision

• Switching from religion to ethics is, as mentioned, not always possible. You only have a right to refuse denominational religious instruction, as enshrined in the Basic Law. There is no right to ethics instruction. Complaints in this regard were clearly decided by the Federal Administrative Court.
• If you want to de-register a child who is older than 10 years from religious education, they must be able to express their opinion. If it is older than 12 years, you may only deregister it if you have given your consent. From the 14th Your child can decide for himself about the year of his or her age. The basis for this regulation is Section 4 of the Religious Child Education Act (RelKErzG). If you cannot come to an agreement with another legal guardian or the child, the family court will decide.
• In some federal states, students under the age of 18 can only cancel religious education if their parents agree or the student in question leaves the religious community. This is the rule in Bavaria and Saarland. Since the student has the freedom to withdraw from the religious community from the age of 14, this is not a contradiction to the Basic Law or the RelKErzG.
• Students from denominational schools usually have no option to switch to ethics. Schools refuse to teach students who are not attending religious education. Denominational schools have this right. If you want to switch to ethics, you have to go to a different school.

As you can see from the explanations, the switch from religion to ethics is not easy. In principle there is only one right to vote against religion. You have no right to ethics instruction.