This master's thesis addresses the issue of the general prohibition of certain religious clothing in connection with religious freedom, one of the fundamental human rights. The burkini ban is one of the major measures that has been widely adopted by French coastal municipalities in 2017. These bans differ from other similar prohibitions in that they are not tied to a particular spatial context but apply to all public forums. Europe has recently been faced with several similar actions by countries that argue that these bans are a necessary measure for reasons such as the principle of equality and public security. This thesis presents an analysis of the justification for such a general ban, considering the principle of equality and public security.
Recently, religious clothing is also being banned in the area of labor law. More and more companies are adopting a so-called neutral policy that requires their employees to have a neutral political, philosophical and religious appearance in front of company clients. In 2017, The European Court of Justice addressed the first two cases concerned with the ban on Islamic veil in the workplace, namely the Achbit case and the Bougnaui case. With help of those two cases, this thesis determines whether such bans on religious clothing or rules that require employees to appear neutral, restrict "only" manifestation of religious beliefs, or perhaps present a wider interference with an individual's identity. In addition, the master's thesis also presents the findings of whether or what consequences a neutrality policy has on a worker who openly respects his religion and what impact the interpretation, that was given by The European Court of Justice, will have on similar cases in the future.
|
