- This is part of the Election manifesto Berlin 2011 (English translation)
STATE AND RELIGION
Freedom and diversity of cultural, religious and ideological attitudes are the marks of modern societies. It is the obligation for the state to guarantee these liberties. By Freedom of Religion we do not only mean the free practise of religion but also the freedom of religious dictation. we realise and respect the meaning individually practised religion can have for the particular human being. It is therefore a necessary precondition for the thriving development of the community to establish the state's ideological neutrality. A secular state calls for the strict separation of religious and state issue; finacial and structural privileges of particular religious communities, for instance in the context of financial alimentation, the assignment of functions in state institutions and the running of social facilities, are most dubious and must therefore be abolished. For the purpose of data economy the acquisition of data by the state of the religious affiliation is to be abolished, the collection of church contributions by the state cannot be justified.
