Re-conceptualizing equality in the work place: A reading of the latest CJEU's opinions over the practice of veiling

Abstract

This article analyses the definition of religion adopted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in its latest opinions concerning the wearing of the headscarf in the workplace. It argues that, by adopting a secular/liberal definition of religion and linking religious freedom to individual autonomy, the CJEU creates a fixed legal and religious subject who is free and at the same time compelled to experience religion in a particular way. This, in turn, has two important implications: first, it creates a problem of equality as it distinguishes between different equality grounds. Second, contrary to liberal claims to secure the plurality and respect of religious minorities, it opens the door to the exclusion of veiled Muslim women from the European labour market.