Fundamental right or political value? The evolution of ‘freedom of religion or belief’ in the European Union’s legitimation and public action

Abstract

In the last decade, freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) emerged as part of the European Union's (EU) agenda in two ways: first, through attempts of its institutionalisation as a full-fledged diplomatic issue by the European External Action Service; and, second, as a bone of contention in EU internal affairs through its instrumentalization by national leaders, such as Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, who advocated for 'Christian religious freedom' as a rallying cry for identity politics. Our research question is twofold: whether FoRB has turned from a legal principle to a value likely to shape political conflicts; and to what extent the developments around FoRB in the realms of law and external affairs are connected to its uses in domestic EU politics. Using various qualitative methods (discourse analysis; interviews, media analysis) and drawing on a selection of relevant data (case-law, policy reports and recommendations) we trace the manifestations of FoRB across different policy sectors. Our findings suggest that no cross-cutting 'politics of religious freedom' is likely to appear in the EU. Looking at the broader picture, this article contributes to the scholarship on the interactions between politics and religion in the EU and on the latter's quest of legitimation.