Court Upholds Homeschooling-Ban Rendering Religious Convictions Irrelevant

Country: Germany

Date of incident: April 25, 2012


Reformed-baptist parents, who wanted to homeschool their three children, lost in the regional administrational court of Baden-Würtemberg in Mannheim. The parents wanted to homeschool to protect their children from a form of „emancipation“ they did not favor, as well as in order to teach them Christian sexual ethics.


The court argued that the state had a legitimate interest to prevent religious „parallel societies“ and decided on a fine of 300 Euro per child, should they not go to school.

Freedom of Religion as well as general parental rights understand parents as the first educators, and the state only as a subsidiary support. This principle seems to be reversed in this judgment.
Appeal was granted.

Sources:

Verwaltungsgerichtshof Baden-Württemberg, Mannheim, Az.: 12 K 718/11

KNA / kath.net (http://kath.net/detail.php?id=36260)