State Neutrality and Religion in Europe: What’s the Prospect?

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the jurisprudence under the European Convention on Human Rights concerning the role of the state in relation to matters of religious belief. The Court’s approach to this topic has changed markedly over the last 30 years and has become increasingly focussed on the idea of ‘neutrality’. This, it is suggested, is a significant error. The article highlights the shortcomings of the approaches it has adopted and argues that the essence of neutrality under the European Convention on Human Rights does not lie in the nature of the relationship between the state and religion or belief but in the manner in which the state approaches the exercise of the substantive right itself.