Religious minorities in Hungary, particularly the Church of Scientology, have faced increasing discrimination and legal challenges in recent years, according to multiple reports and statements from international human rights bodies.
In 2017, Hungarian authorities conducted sweeping raids on Scientology churches and missions across the country. As reported by specialized religious freedom magazine BitterWinter in March 2023,
“An all-out dawn raid happened on 18 and 19 October 2017 at all Hungarian Scientology Churches and Missions.”
The raids were part of a criminal investigation accusing Scientology leaders of tax fraud for claiming their core practices as religious activities exempt from VAT.
However, religious scholars have argued that Scientology’s practices of “auditing” and training are indeed religious in nature. As American scholar Donald Westbrook stated, these are part of a
“step-by-step soteriological map intended to take an individual to higher states of awareness and ability.”
And also the Internal Revenue Service in the United States fully reviewed all the practices and granted tax exemption to all US Churches in 1993, as it has been done in Sweden, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, SouthAfrica and many others, based on the same facts that Hungary has used.
The targeting of Scientology appears to be part of a broader pattern of discrimination against non-traditional religions in Hungary. In a 2018 letter to the Hungarian government, the then UN Special Rapporteurs on FoRB, Minority Issues and the one on Privacy, expressed concern about
“discriminatory measures against the Church of Scientology on the basis of religious belief.”
The UN experts noted that Hungarian authorities had repeatedly denied Scientology the Certificate of Occupancy for its headquarters in Budapest and launched criminal investigations leading to
“the seizure of several documents including of a private nature and to restrictions on places of worship.”
Massimo Introvigne, one of the most renown worldwide European experts and sociologist of religion, and who served as the “Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions” of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), argues that Hungary’s actions reflect an exported Russian approach of using accusations of “extremism” against minority religions. He writes that
“the concomitancy of the actions based on data protection, taxes, and electrical issues is not a coincidence. It is an expression of the publicly stated official hostility to Scientology.”
Hungary Accused of Religious Discrimination Against Church of Scientology
In 2011, Hungary passed a controversial new Religion Law that stripped legal recognition from hundreds of previously registered religious groups, including the Church of Scientology. This law has been criticized by the European Court of Human Rights and Hungary’s own Constitutional Court for violating religious freedom rights.
Since then, the government has taken several actions specifically targeting Scientology:
Denying Occupancy for Main Place of Worship
The government has repeatedly denied a Certificate of Occupancy for the Church’s headquarters in Budapest, despite inspections finding the building safe to occupy. This has left the Church facing potential sanctions for using its main place of worship.
According to a letter sent by the aforementioned UN Special Rapporteurs to the Hungarian government on August 30, 2018:
“The Church appealed the decision to the Administrative and Labour Court of Budapest. On 12 September 2017, the Court remanded the case to the second instance to be considered again within 21 days, taking into account all the evidence that was previously neglected, which reportedly proves that the building is safe and ready to be used. The procedure started in December 2017, however, it has not been completed to the present date.”
To this date this issue is not resolved and they continue to deny the occupancy certificate creating a situation of constant uncertainty about how long will they be able to operate in their place of worship.
Seizing Confidential Religious Files: “serious impediments to religious freedom” UN says
Hungarian authorities have used data protection laws to seize confidential religious files, including “preclear folders” containing private communications between Scientologists and their ministers.
In the UN Special Rapporteurs’ letter to Hungary, from August 2018 it can be read:
“On 7 December 2016, the Data Protection Authority launched a data protection investigation of the Church of Scientology and, to this end, seized various documents from its offices in Budapest and Nyiregyhaza, including ‘preclear folders’ that contain confidential communications between penitents and their minister.”
According to human rights attorney Patricia Duval, writing in The Journal of CESNUR,
“Hungary is currently the only country in the world that has seized and refuses to return such folders consisting of sacred and confidential pastor-penitent communications.”
The government has launched criminal investigations into alleged data protection violations and tax evasion by the Church, leading to multiple police raids on Scientology properties.
The UN inquisitive letter to Hungary describes one such raid:
“On 18 October 2017 at 7.30 a.m., around 60 agents of the National Bureau of Investigation raided the Church of Scientology headquarters in Budapest, seized documents and sealed the building. On the next day at 7.00 a.m., the criminal section of the tax office executed search warrants and seized documents from the Church’s offices in Budapest and 15 other locations with the purpose of investigating possible financial crimes. In addition, the authorities froze the Church’s bank accounts and placed a lien on the Budapest headquarters.”
A Hungarian court later ruled that this raid was disproportionate and illegal, according to Duval’s article published by the Journal of CESNUR on march-april 2018.
Government Statements and Criticism
Hungarian officials have made public statements declaring their intention to restrict Scientology activities. Religious scholar Massimo Introvigne, in a paper presented at a University of Eastern Finland conference, quoted Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén as stating in 2011:
“As long as I am in the government, Scientology won’t be recognized as a religion.”
These actions have drawn strong criticism from international bodies. The UN Special Rapporteurs expressed
“serious concern that the criminal investigations carried out against the Church of Scientology, which led to the seizure of several documents including of a private nature and to restrictions on places of worship, may be incompatible with international human rights standards.”
They further stated that
“Such acts constitute serious impediments to religious freedom and to the fulfilment of the rights and freedoms of religious minorities as enshrined in the applicable international human rights standards that Hungary has committed to.”
The Church of Scientology maintains it is being unfairly targeted for religious discrimination. The situation highlights ongoing concerns about Hungary’s treatment of minority faiths under its 2011 Religion Law, which has been criticized by international bodies but remains in force.
Critics argue that these actions violate principles of religious freedom and state neutrality towards religion. The case of Scientology in Hungary raises broader questions about the protection of minority religious rights in the country and the use of administrative and legal measures to restrict unpopular religious groups.
The UN Special Rapporteurs urged Hungary to ensure its actions are “compatible with international human rights standards, particularly regarding the right to freedom of religion or belief and the right to privacy.” They called on the government to provide “detailed and updated information on the concrete measures undertaken by the Government of Hungary to ensure protection and promotion of religious freedom and of the human rights of religious minorities in the country.“
As the legal battles continue, human rights advocates argue that Hungary is using tax and privacy laws plus other measures to discriminate against Scientology specifically and also against other minority faiths in violation of international religious freedom principles. The ongoing situation highlights ongoing tensions between nationalist ideologies and protections for religious minorities in parts of Europe.
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