Diritto Pubblico Comparato ed Europeo

Sommario

1. Introduzione. La peculiarità austriaca. – 2. Il necessario riconoscimento normativo delle confessioni e le sue conseguenze. – 3. Le manifestazioni di credo religioso in ambito scolastico. – 4. Segue: lo status della religione islamica. – 5. Considerazioni conclusive.

Abstract

The Austrian legal system is quite peculiar, in comparative terms, with regard to the manifestation of religious belief in the public sphere. On one hand, since the 19th Century Austria does provide legal recognition to churches and confessions, including Islam, which thus enjoys the same benefits and constraints as all other religious communities. Among them, religious education in public schools and the right to expose religious symbols in public spaces are granted. On the other hand, however, since each religious community can negotiate its treatment within the framework of the principle of State neutrality in religious issues, many norms are “biased” due to the application of the majority principle. This allows a preferential treatment of the “majority” religion, i.e. the Catholicism, particularly where symbols are concerned: the exhibition of the cross in classrooms and courts is compulsory. There are no social conflicts on the issue of symbols and no cases of intolerance towards the Islamic headscarf have been reported.