Federal judges refused Thursday to rule on whether the Church of Scientology is a religion, ordering a lower court to focus instead on whether the group is a nonprofit venture or a moneymaking business.
The case, concerning a Scientology branch in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, already has been bounced several times from court to court.German politicians claim the Los Angeles-based group is a moneymaking business with totalitarian aims to overthrow democracy; the Scientologists say they are a nonprofit religious group discriminated against in German society.
Judges Thursday said that Scientology's religious status is irrelevant to this case, which focuses on whether a branch of the group in Baden-Wuerttemberg should be afforded nonprofit status. They provided a guideline for the state court to make its decision, saying that Scientology would be considered a business only if it made a financial profit from selling educational materials to non-members.