In Hamburg, religious instruction in the general public schools is a regular subject and compulsory for all pupils. Parents have the right to decide whether their child participate in religious education or is deregistered from religious education. From the age of 14, the pupils themselves decide if they want to participate at religious education or not.
Those pupils who have been deregistered from religious education are offered a compulsory alternative to religious instruction in the fields of ethics and philosophy (see § 7 School Act Hamburg).