Scientology has an IRS tax exemption in the US as another religion, but it seems in Germany the state has made their life quite difficult. Does German law provides for a clear specification of how to define a religion?
Probably not the most meaningful example as Scientology had to be pretty egregious to get disqualified.
but "pay for indulgences" is fine?
Apparently members have stronger restrictions than those applied to persons who express extreme right views:
"Scientologists in Germany face specific political and economic restrictions. They are barred from membership in some major political parties, and businesses and other employers use so-called "sect filters" to expose a prospective business partner's or employee's association with the organization."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_in_Germany
I am just trying to check who are the committees who define what is an acceptable religion, how and under what legal framework.
"In 2019, the Munich Labor court sided with the director of personnel of Haus der Kunst, a well-known artistic museum. He had been removed from his position after working for 22 years because it was discovered that he was a Scientologist. The case was settled and the director of personnel was paid 110,000 euro as severance and received a full pension. Many Germany courts also ruled the legitimacy of Scientology as a religion. In 2019, Ahmed Shaheed and Fernand de Varennes who were UN Special Rapporteurs on freedom of religion and on minority issues wrote to Germany that, "discriminating against those who profess a certain belief is illegal under international human rights law, irrespective of whether the belief is religious or merely philosophical or cultural."
(No major party allows membership in another party, except european sister parties in other countries, but it's possible, and some smaller parties allow it)
Scientology's founder has been quoted as saying: "You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.” German courts have argued that because of this (and the organization's behavior after he died) that it's actually a for-profit business organization masquerading as a religion.
EDIT: I probably should add that the US is rather extreme amongst nations worldwide in that it does tend to recognize personal conviction rather than only shared dogma/tradition as a form of 'religion'. It's unlikely but I could see the organization losing tax-exempt status. Even if this happened, the individuals couldn't be prohibited from practicing what they believe is a religion.
It's also worth pointing out that, unlike some other countries, the US doesn't really have a formal system for recognizing religious organizations. AFAIU, the closest thing we have is the IRS adjudicating in the first instance Federal tax exemption status. Otherwise, as a general matter, a religion is as a religion does, and it's usually up to agencies, municipalities, and ultimately courts to decide on a dispute-by-dispute basis whether an organization, group, or person is owed the benefit of some particular religious exception in law.