Religion, Human Rights, and the Workplace: Judicial Balancing in the United States Federal Courts and the European Court of Human Rights

Religious freedom is a fundamental and relatively uncontested right in both the United States and Europe. But other values like equality, justice, and the right to a private life are just as precious. Managing such conflicts has become a highly contested and politicized area of law and nowhere are such conflicts more evident – or more challenging – than those arising in the workplace.

By comparing United States Federal Courts’ approach to free exercise in the workplace with that of the Europ...