Legal provisions, courts, and the status of religious communities: a socio-legal analysis of inter-religious relations in Romania

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this analysis, we discuss the recent dynamics of inter-religious relations in Romania with a focus on the influence of legislative provisions and court decisions. While previous analyses have focused on the domination of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the national religious field, and particularly on its relations with minority denominations, recent dynamics point to partial re-configurations in power relations. We analyse in depth several conflicts between representatives of religious majority and minority denominations (enjoying a higher legal status), on the one hand, and representatives of heterodox religious groups that have recently broken away or represent different religious traditions (with a lower legal status), on the other. We argue that new religious freedom dynamics arise at the intersection of conflicting interests of such communities with higher and, respectively, lower legal recognition. We analyse these dynamics in connection to national legislative provisions, domestic court decisions and the European Court of Human Rights.