Scientologists in Germany carried out community initiatives in Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart and Bavaria, focusing on drug-prevention education, human-rights awareness, peacebuilding and volunteer service.
KINGNEWSWIRE // PRESS RELEASE // BERLIN, Germany – 28 May 2026 – Scientologists in Germany carried out a series of community-based social and constitutional initiatives in 2025 and 2026, with activities focused on drug prevention, human-rights education, peacebuilding and volunteer service. The work reflects a broader pattern of public outreach by Churches of Scientology, missions and volunteers in German cities including Hamburg, Munich, Berlin and Stuttgart.
The activities are part of international social betterment programmes supported by the Church of Scientology and inspired by its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. In Germany, they have taken the form of public information stands, open houses, educational events, interreligious discussions, volunteer assistance and the distribution of prevention materials in response to local and national concerns.
In Hamburg, volunteers connected with the Church of Scientology Hamburg held a public information stand at the end of February 2026 for the initiative “Sag Nein zu Drogen, Sag Ja zum Leben” – “Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Life.” The volunteers distributed over a thousand drug-education booklets and recorded dozens of drug-free pledges. On 1 March, the church also held an open house presenting the work of Scientology Volunteer Ministers and recognising two Hamburg volunteers for their service in humanitarian programmes.
The activity took place against a serious public-health background. Federal figures for 2024 recorded 2,137 deaths in Germany as a result of illegal drug use. They also pointed to a 14 percent increase in drug-related deaths among people under 30, a rise in deaths involving synthetic opioids and new psychoactive substances, and growing concern over mixed consumption. In that context, the Hamburg initiative placed emphasis on prevention through accessible educational materials and direct contact with the public.
Hamburg was also the setting for two related human-rights and peace events in late 2025. On 19 September, the Church of Scientology Hamburg held an open house for the International Day of Peace. The programme focused on the connection between peace, human rights and civic education, with information on Youth for Human Rights and United for Human Rights. An evening discussion brought together representatives of different religious communities to exchange views on the contribution of faith communities to peace, respect and social cohesion.
On 12 December 2025, Hamburg Scientologists marked Human Rights Day with an open house and charity concert. The event presented the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through displays and short educational films. It also connected the theme of human dignity with Article 25 of the Declaration, which addresses the right to an adequate standard of living, including access to basic necessities. Donations collected through the concert were intended to support the construction of a well in Guinea-Bissau, linking human-rights education with practical humanitarian support.
Munich provides another local example of the same prevention work in Bavaria. Volunteers with the “Sag Nein zu Drogen, Sag Ja zum Leben” initiative carried out drug-prevention outreach in Munich, including information activity near Sendlinger Tor, and held a seminar on drug education. A further March activity focused on encouraging young people to live drug-free. Together with the Hamburg activities, the Munich examples show how the campaign has been carried out in different German cities.
The same prevention message was visible during the UEFA European Championship in Germany, held from 14 June to 14 July 2024. Volunteers from Scientology Churches and Missions across Germany and their partners reached football supporters and the wider public around championship locations. They distributed drug-education materials from Foundation for a Drug-Free World, set up stands and mobile exhibits, and encouraged people to learn more about the effects of commonly abused substances.
Human-rights education has also been part of Scientology social activity in Germany. In January 2024, the Church of Scientology Berlin marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with an art exhibition and poetry reading at its Public Information Centre on Otto-Suhr-Allee. The programme focused on freedom of expression and used paintings and poetry to present the language of human rights in a cultural setting.
Volunteer service has also been visible in moments of public need. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Scientology Volunteer Ministers in Germany distributed “Stay Well” booklets in cities including Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Karlsruhe, Munich and Ulm, helping neighbours, local businesses and community spaces understand basic prevention measures. In Stuttgart, Volunteer Ministers handed out thousands of “Stay Well” booklets to businesses and residents and provided sanitisation assistance to a local mosque during the pandemic period.
In 2021, after severe flooding affected parts of Germany, Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology Munich travelled to a community in the Bavarian Alps, coordinated with the fire brigade, cleaned homes, helped residents salvage belongings and delivered clothing, shoes and toys to a family that had lost nearly everything.
“These examples reflect the social value of steady, practical help,” said Ivan Arjona, representative of the Church of Scientology to the European Union, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. “Drug-prevention education, human-rights awareness and volunteer assistance are not abstract ideas. They are ways in which citizens contribute to dignity, responsibility and solidarity – values deeply rooted in Europe’s democratic and human-rights traditions.”
The campaigns supported by Scientologists in Germany are linked to international initiatives backed by the Church of Scientology. Foundation for a Drug-Free World provides drug-education materials used by volunteers in many countries. Youth for Human Rights and United for Human Rights promote public understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Scientology Volunteer Ministers programme, developed from the writings of L. Ron Hubbard, is based on the principle that individuals can be trained and organised to provide practical help in times of need.
For European observers, the German examples are significant because they show a religious community contributing to civic life through education and service in areas of shared public concern. The activities are local in form but broader in meaning: they touch on youth prevention, public understanding of rights, interreligious dialogue, emergency assistance and the place of minority communities within democratic society.
The Church of Scientology, its churches, missions, groups and members are present across the European continent. Scientology Europe reports a continent-wide presence through more than 140 churches, missions and affiliated groups in at least 27 European nations, alongside thousands of community-based social betterment and reform initiatives focused on education, prevention and neighbourhood-level support, inspired by the work of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Within Europe’s diverse national frameworks for religion, the Church’s recognitions continue to expand, with administrative and judicial authorities in Spain, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Slovakia and others, as well as the European Court of Human Rights, having addressed and acknowledged Scientology communities as protected by the national and international provisions of Freedom of Religion or belief.
