[5] The GWUP regards the critical contemplation of unproven claims in fields such as parasciences, esotericism, superstition, religion and alternative medicine as its main goal.

[9] Besides a theoretical dispute, individuals like dowsers, telekinetics, proponents of energized water scams, practitioners of alternative medicine and astrologers are being criticised and their skills also partially put to empirical examination.

Scientific methods should be disseminated, made understandable and applied to parasciences, pseudosciences as well as related belief systems.

This also includes educating the general public about the current state of scientific knowledge about parascientific claims.

In these areas critical attention is highly indicated, since belief in these inefficacious methods leads to omission of more effective treatments.

[13] The open letter of the GWUP Science Council demanded "to put an enlightened, modern and scientific worldview at the centre of school education instead of esoteric doctrines, without fuss or quibble.

[5][15] From 2008 to 2023, its chairperson was electrical engineer and CSI fellow Amardeo Sarma, who also presided over the European Council of Skeptical Organisations in 2000–2013.

[7] As its predecessor organisations, the GWUP cites the informal Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Skeptiker zur Untersuchung von Pseudowissenschaften und Okkultem (ASUPO, "Working Community of Skeptics for the Investigation of Pseudosciences and Occultism", founded on 7 February 1987) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Bekämpfung des Kurpfuschertums ("German Society for Fighting Quackery", founded in 1903, outlawed by the Nazis in 1934).

[17] The Society has a scientific advisory council at its disposal, currently presided by Peter Kröling and Wolfgang Hell.

The Science Council has an interdisciplinary composition and comprises scientists, scholars and other people from fields such as medicine, psychology, physics, religious studies, biology, pedagogy, folkloristics and cultural anthropology.

In Roßdorf the GWUP maintains the Centre for Science and Critical Thinking (Zentrum für Wissenschaft und kritisches Denken), established in 1999 by Martin Mahner.

[21] The Viennese group appears in public as Gesellschaft für kritisches Denken (Society for Critical Thinking).

[35] Notable speakers included Natalie Grams, Lydia Benecke, Anna Zakrisson and Nikil Mukerji [de].

[37] During the 2011 GWUP-conference in Vienna, it was given for the first time, to film director Peter A. Straubinger for his pseudoscientific documentary In the Beginning There Was Light about breatharianism.

[14] Initially the experiments were conducted in concordance with James Randi as part of the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge,[43] later independently.

[60][61][62] In May 2018, GWUP issued an invitation to individuals and groups to respond to its challenge "to identify homeopathic preparations in high potency and to give a detailed description on how this can be achieved reproducibly."

[1][12] GWUP members are often invited as experts on television shows about subjects with which the organisation is concerned, for example, Heinz Oberhummer on the topic "Wieviel Unvernunft verträgt die Wissenschaft?"

[79] The Bayerischer Rundfunk reported on the psi tests of 2011 in their television programme Vor Ort – Die Reportage.

In a 2014 interview, GWUP chairman Amardeo Sarma stated his position which included the statement that all valid internal and external criticism are and will continue to be addressed.