Die negative Religionsfreiheit und christlich geprägte Gehalte des Landesverfassungsrechts

Some German state constitutions contain norms that are explicitly influenced by Christianity. At the same time, the German constitutional system stipulates the principle of religious ideological neutrality. This is reflected in the negative aspects of civil liberties. In this study, the author examines the tense legal relationship between civil liberties and region-specific norms in state constitutions. She compares state constitutions with Germany’s Basic Law and examines whether the basic German constitutional principle of federalism leaves any leeway for state constitutions. Subsequently, the author takes into consideration the ruling of the German Constitutional Court on religious legal problems. Starting from the thesis that state constitutions are being neglected by the court’s rulings, the author examines possible ways to consider region-specific law within the scope of the Basic Law.