PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN ROMANIAN AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE CASE OF THE ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN ROMANIAN AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE CASE OF THE ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

Summary/Abstract: The establishment of the state of emergency, followed by the state of alert, in Romania, amid the Covid 19 pandemic, raised the issue of the relationship between the state and the church, as well as that of the legal regime of religious freedom in Romania. In this context, several key questions were asked. What is the distinction between right and its exercise, given that, at most, the exercise can be limited? Who establishes the content of the right to practice a religious cult? The church or the state? Is a law that requires the modification of religious beliefs, even if only in their outward expression, compatible with the principle of religious freedom? May church hierarchs be required to cooperate in enforcing such a law? What are the procedural and substantive conditions regarding the regulation of religious activity? May religious freedom be restricted in some way? If the direct limitation is not allowed, according to the Constitution, could indirect limitations be accepted? This study attempts to answer all of these questions. In essence, the answer is that the state has a wide margin of maneuver in establishing the framework for the manifestation of religious freedom, including the hygienic-sanitary measures imposed by the fight against a pandemic, but it has strict limits. In any case, religious freedom cannot be restricted in any way.

• Details
• Contents