People from a range of religious backgrounds and with different beliefs work and study at Freie Universität Berlin alongside those who do not adhere to any religion or belief system in particular. As a state institution and corporation under public law in the State of Berlin, the university is required to remain neutral in matters of religion and belief.

Discrimination on the basis of religion or belief runs counter to the values of Freie Universität Berlin. Furthermore, it is prohibited in the Berlin State Anti-Discrimination Act (Landesantidiskriminierungsgesetz Berlin, LADG) and the General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz, AGG). An example of religious discrimination would be not selecting someone in a hiring procedure because of their religion.The German constitution also protects a person's right not to belong to any religious or ideological community.

Religious discrimination is often closely intertwined with racial discrimination to the extent that it is sometimes difficult to discern between the two. These facets of discrimination (along with many others, such as sexism) often converge in discrimination against Turkish women who are Muslims or Jewish persons, for example.

The term “belief” (Weltanschauung) in the context of antidiscrimination work refers to a conviction or understanding of human life and the world that resembles a religious belief and has a binding influence on an individual’s way of life as well as their sense of identity and is shared by a significant number of other people. “Belief” as a legal term is understood to refer to a subjective and binding system of thoughts that concerns itself with questions surrounding the meaning of human life and the wider world.

Freie Universität Berlin aims to create an environment for teaching, studying, and working in which everyone feels safe and respected, knowing they can play an active role in university life and pursue personal development through equitable participation. This means providing support whenever discrimination occurs on an individual level as well as implementing sustainable structural measures to promote equal opportunities for everyone. Freie Universität Berlin strives to factor religion and belief into all its measures that concern a variety of other dimensions of discrimination.