Religious Symbols and the Conflicts of Secularism in Europe

An Analysis of the Strasbourg–Luxembourg Axis

Abstract

The protection of the forum externum, the margin of appreciation, and the proportionality review of workplace neutrality policies are the main topics of this article’s comparison of the case law on religious symbols from the ECtHR and the CJEU. In contrast to the Luxembourg jurisprudence (Achbita, Bougnaoui, WABE/Müller), which employs a more formal proportionality test rooted in equal treatment and internal market logic, the Strasbourg line (Kokkinakis, Dahlab, Leyla Şahin, Lautsi, Eweida, S.A.S., Hamidović, Mikyas) is context-sensitive and grants greater deference to national constitutional identity. The paper makes the case that a more cohesive effects-based analysis focused on observable individual harm could unify the approaches despite disparate systemic goals.