The judges in Luxembourg ruled, among other things, whether church membership was also required of other employees with the same tasks. In addition, it must be examined whether the religious requirement is actually “essential, lawful and justified” given the nature of the activity carried out.

The background was a case from Germany: a church association for pregnancy advice Wiesbaden had fired a social worker after she left, even though membership in the Catholic Church was not required for the position. Two members of the Protestant Church were also working on the advisory team at the time.

According to the Court, it is not apparent that church membership is “essential” to the work of a pregnancy counselor. In such a situation, the resignation itself does not seem to call into question the association’s ethos or right to self-determination, according to the announcement of the judgment. Ultimately, the Federal Labor Court must decide the specific case, said Luxemburg.

Consultant has been working at Caritas since 2006

The woman had worked at the post since 2006. In 2013 she took parental leave for several years and during this time left the Catholic Church. According to her, the reason for this was financial and family aspects. It was about the special church fee that the Limburg diocese charges. The tax applies to church members whose spouse has a different religious affiliation or is non-denominational – and earns significantly more. The tax is calculated based on the joint income, so that the social worker, even in parental and part-time work, would have had to pay more than 2,000 euros per year, according to her information.

The person concerned explains that her husband left the Catholic Church because of the financial affair in connection with the luxury residence of the former Bishop of Limburg. He didn’t want to provide any money for this – not even indirectly by contributing to the church fees for them.

Church saw leaving as a serious offense

The church believed that the withdrawal was a conscious act of distancing is a serious breach of the duty of loyalty. According to church rules, leaving is one of the most serious offenses against the faith and unity of the church. When the woman wanted to go back to work after parental leave in 2019 and refused to go back to church, she was fired.

The woman emphasized that nothing had changed in her attitude to Christian values ​​and her faith. She also emphasized this in a conversation with the board. “I didn’t want to leave at all. I was and am a very religious person,” she shared. She hoped for a solution until the end. She would very much like to continue working in the team.

The verdict at the Federal Labor Court is still pending

The woman sued against the termination in German courts and was successful in the lower courts. The dispute went to the Federal Labor Court. This turned to the ECJ in Luxembourg. The Federal Labor Court must now take its interpretation into account when making its decision.

Depending on the outcome, the specific case could also end up before the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Just a few months ago, this made an important judgment on church labor law and in it emphasized the churches’ right to self-determination.

Churches are large employers in Germany. According to its own information, almost 771,000 people work for the Caritas welfare association.