Religious Freedom in Flux: The European Court of Human Rights Grapples with Ethnic, Cultural, Religious, and Legal Pluralism

  • James T. Richardson University of Nevada, Reno, USA
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/csp.2019.3.4.079

Abstract

This article examines the growing influences of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and controversies arising as a result of the Court’s movement toward establishing itself as a de facto Supreme Court of member nations of the Council of Europe (CoE) in the area of human and civil rights, including religious freedom. Responses to criticisms of the Court are considered, as is the growing problem of some member states refusing to enforce rulings of the Court. Some recent cases, mostly involving Islam, that seem to demonstrate a growing recognition of the ethnic, cultural, and legal pluralism that exists within the expanded CoE are examined. Also discussed is the apparent two-track approach the Court has taken as a result of having to manage religious freedom within such a diverse group of member nations.

Author Biography

James T. Richardson, University of Nevada, Reno, USA

James T. Richardson, J.D., Ph.D., is Emeritus Foundation Professor of Sociology and Judicial Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. He directed and taught in the Judicial Studies Graduate Degree Program for Trial Judges during the last 30 years of his 48-year tenure at the University of Nevada. His specialties include the sociology of religion, especially focusing on minority religions, the role of courts in managing religion, and social scientific evidence, areas in which he has published numerous books, articles and chapters in edited volumes.

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Published
2020-01-06
How to Cite
Richardson, J. (2019). Religious Freedom in Flux: The European Court of Human Rights Grapples with Ethnic, Cultural, Religious, and Legal Pluralism. Changing Societies & Personalities, 3(4), 303–318. doi:10.15826/csp.2019.3.4.079
Citation Formats
Issue
Vol. 3, No. 4 (2019)
Section
Articles