Religious Ethos, Bond of Loyalty, and Proportionality—Translating the ‘Ministerial Exception’ into ‘European’

This article analyses the European counterpart of what in the United States is known as ‘the ministerial exception’. The European Union, and in particular its non-discrimination legislation, will be the primary focus for the analysis. It is argued that the EU navigates a complex landscape of diverse national traditions, recent development at the European Court of Human Rights and its own standard of uniform application, resulting in an approach that balances competing rights rather than providing blanket exceptions. The article presents non-discrimination legislation at the EU level, in particular in relation to the scope of collective religious freedom. In so doing, it also includes the view of the European Commission and discusses possible outcomes if a case were to be adjudicated by the European Court of Justice.

Business · Ethos · European commission · European union · International trade · Law and economics · Legislation · Loyalty · Political science · Proportionality (law) · Sociology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Religious Freedom and Discrimination