Crucifix out! Court overturns compulsory crucifix at grammar schools - What the ruling means for Bavaria's schools

When the cross becomes too much

A cross in the school corridor - for some a piece of home, for others an encroachment on personal freedom. Now a Bavarian court has ruled that this very cross in the entrance area of a state grammar school is not compatible with religious freedom. Two schoolgirls had sued - and won. On July 8, 2025, the Bavarian Administrative Court ruled that the school "would have been obliged to remove the crucifix". This gives a new twist to a long-simmering dispute.

The judges saw it this way: anyone who has to go to school every day and is directly confronted with a religious symbol - without any real possibility of avoiding it - is violating their negative freedom of belief. In other words, no one may be confronted with religion against their will. Not even in Bavaria.

Söder's cross decree - now crumbling

In 2018, Markus Söder pushed through the famous "cross decree". A cross in the entrance area of every state building - as a symbol of Bavarian culture, as he emphasized. However, critics accused him of misusing religion for political purposes - even churches held back their approval.

The new ruling now puts a damper on Söder's symbolic policy. This is because the cross decree does not apply to grammar schools. Even a law that prescribes crosses in the classroom in elementary school cannot be applied to secondary schools. There is no legal basis for grammar schools.

The court left open the question of whether the state parliament will "rectify" this situation by law. The fact is, however, that the state is not allowed to simply put up religious signs in schools if they are not neutral and generally accepted.

No free pass for atheism - but clear limits for the state

Important: The lawsuit also had a second point - the school church service. Here the pupils lost. The school had allowed them to attend an alternative lesson during the service. The judges thought that was okay. After all, those who are given an alternative are not forced to attend. A compromise that shows: freedom of religion does not mean a ban on religion - but neither does it mean compulsory religion.

A clear edge against symbolic politics

What Söder wanted to sell as a cultural guardrail in 2018 was legally shaky from the outset. A crucifix may mean home to many - but not everyone can be declared home to everyone. If the state wants to be neutral, it must treat religious symbols in public spaces with sensitivity - and not with a hammer.