A/HRC/34/50/Add.1 3. Christian minorities 36. Outside of the Folkekirke, other Christian communities also exist in Denmark. They come from the whole spectrum of Christian Churches, ranging from Old-Oriental and Orthodox Churches to various branches of Protestantism and Pentecostal communities. Most of them have just a few thousand followers. After the Folkekirke, the Catholic Church forms the second biggest Christian community, although its constituency comprises not much more than 1 per cent of the membership of the Lutheran Evangelical Church. 37. There have been Baptists in Denmark for centuries. Until the early nineteenth century, they had suffered from serious persecution, since all parents were legally obliged to baptize their newborn children, which the Baptists refused for theological reasons. Even after the 1849 Constitution, which introduced freedom of worship for everyone, it took more than a century before the Baptists received their formal recognition as a religious community, in 1953. While appreciating the prevailing liberal atmosphere in Denmark in which they can fully enjoy their freedom of religion, the Baptists criticize the nonegalitarian treatment of religious communities, which consistently excludes them from certain rights and privileges enjoyed by the Folkekirke. In that regard, what matters more than financial and other disadvantages is the element of a symbolic humiliation, which they often feel. That symbolic dimension, they emphasize, has sometimes been “trivialized” by State representatives when dismissing their claims for equal treatment as allegedly being motivated by financial and fundraising interests only. 38. Similar criticism came from the Catholic Church. Unlike the Baptists, Catholics have a history in Denmark of being a community of “foreigners”, traditionally composed of traders, diplomats and other people temporarily residing in the country. Even today, the growth of the Catholic Church is largely due to recent waves of immigration. The Catholics would like to level a church tax paid regularly by their members, in order to ensure more stability concerning the resources they need for running charity organizations and private schools, and for the maintenance of church buildings, some of which are historical. A Catholic priest expressed frustration that, before being entitled to baptize a child, he would always have to wait for certain documents to come from the Folkekirke, which he — as a born Dane — found slightly annoying, since it constantly reminded him that Catholics, like other minorities, only rank second after the Evangelical Lutheran Church. 39. Jehovah’s Witnesses have lived in Denmark since the late nineteenth century and can teach, preach and practise their religion without facing any obstacle. Conscientious objection to the military service, which in Denmark continues to be mandatory, is granted to Jehovah’s Witnesses without undue procedural stipulations. Occasional complications concerning the right to adopt children have been settled satisfactorily. With regard to medical treatment without blood-transfusion, a core issue within the ethics of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, they even see the current accommodating arrangements in Denmark as a model for Europe. 4. Other religious groups 40. Denmark has become a home for communities outside the circle of traditional monotheistic religions, such as Hindus and Buddhists. The country also hosts around one thousand Baha’is, which represent a comparatively new monotheistic religion of the book. Unfortunately, it was not possible during the visit to meet representatives of members of those religious communities. 41. The Church of Scientology, which has existed in Denmark since the 1960s, has its European headquarters in Copenhagen. In the absence of the formal status of an acknowledged religious community, Scientology operates as a private association. Scientologists also run a few free schools, in which teachers from the Church of 11