On the final day, the team collectively ran 150 km to bring the Torch to Frankfurt in time for the climax of the Journey: a multi-faith “Rally for Truth”.
Minority religious discrimination in Germany has been widely publicised. In numerous human rights reports, the United Nations, the U.S. State Department and many other human rights bodies have documented intolerance towards minority religions by the German government.
A German Parliamentary Commission has recommended that the government legalise funding of private initiatives against religious groups, although the Constitutional Court held this to be illegal in 1992. The commission also seeks to make official recognition of religions dependent upon members’ loyalty to the state. Jehovah’s Witnesses were denied religious recognition by a court on the grounds that this loyalty was subject to question because they allegedly discourage members from voting. Members of other religions, including Charismatic Christians, Muslims and Scientologists, have experienced systematic discrimination in the public and private sector.
Partly due to extensive international pressure and criticism of its methods, the Parliamentary Commission concluded that the word “sect” was derogatory and should not be used.
Under the Kohl administration, the German government became the engine driving religious intolerance in Europe. In France, the Prime Minister’s office has announced the formation of an interministerial department which places religious observance under the watchful eye of the state. Legislation is planned which, if enacted, will have a corrosive effect on the entire system of civil rights in France.
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