Discrimination on Ground of Religion and Belief - Challenges in Effective Protection

The protection on the ground of religion and belief is explicitly provided in the European legal system, in the European Convention on Human Rights and the law of the European Union. Religion and belief is a highly complicated and sensitive ground of discrimination with specific features compared to other grounds such as ethnicity, gender, disability, age or sexual orientation. This paper explores the features of the religion and belief as discriminatory ground from a legal and policy stand, its specificity and challenges in effective protection. In addition, the paper elaborates the position of the international jurisdictions, such as the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union through its case law on protection of discrimination on this ground. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the intersectionality with gender and the interplay and potential conflict with other grounds of discrimination such as for example the sexual orientation. Finally, the paper presents ways forward in providing for effective protection against discrimination on ground of religion and belief, with emphasis put on the work of the equality bodies and good practices. The text uses reports and results from research and survey that have been conducted in the European Union and draws conclusions from the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union