Decision on Scientology
Italy Court of Cassation
Registro Gen. n.116835/97 (1997)
- Written by Mary Katherine Cunningham, JD
Facts
Prior to November 1993, several Italian courts determined that Scientology was a religion. In November 1993, the Milan Court of Appeal entered a judgement revising a lower court decision. The Milan Court of Appeal found that members of Scientology in Italy were guilty of certain crimes committed before 1981. The decision did not answer whether Scientology was a religion. The decision of the Milan Court of Appeal was appealed, and the Italy Court of Cassation—the country’s highest court—remanded back to the Milan Court of Appeal to determine whether Scientology was a religion. In December 1996, the Milan Court of Appeal found that Scientology was not a religion, determining that a religion was a system of doctrines concerning the existence of a supreme being with whom humanity had a relationship and to whom humanity owed a duty of obedience and reverence. The Milan Court of Appeal specifically defined the supreme being in a theistic sense. Quoting caselaw on the Constitution of Italy, the Milan Court of Appeal also found that a belief system must be understood as a religion by the wider community. The Milan Court of Appeal concluded that Scientology was not a religion because Scientology did not have a theistic concept of a supreme being and was not commonly understood as a religion. The matter was appealed to the Italy Court of Cassation.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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