Equality in Sheep's Clothing: The Implications of Anti-Discrimination Norms for Religious Autonomy

Santa Clara Journal of International Law, 2012

40 Pages Posted: 26 Apr 2015

See all articles by Brett G. Scharffs

Brett G. Scharffs

Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

The most significant dialectic in law and religion jurisprudence over the past fifty years has been between freedom and equality. This struggle has played out in a number of contexts and in a number of legal jurisdictions. This paper will focus on three snapshots -- an employment discrimination case from Ontario, Canada; a pair of German church autonomy cases recently decided by the European Court of Human Rights; and the controversy over Catholic adoption services in the State of Massachusetts, and elsewhere in the Untied States as well as in the United Kingdom. These comparative illustrations highlight some general recurring issues that arise when religious freedom, on the one hand, and equality/nondiscrimination norms, on the other hand, come into tension with each other. Patterns and trends are troubling and bode ill for religious freedom.

Keywords: freedom, equality, religion, religious freedom, discrimination, nondiscrimination

Suggested Citation

Scharffs, Brett G., Equality in Sheep's Clothing: The Implications of Anti-Discrimination Norms for Religious Autonomy (2012). Santa Clara Journal of International Law, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2598791

Brett G. Scharffs (Contact Author)

Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School ( email )

430 JRCB
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
United States

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