Immigration and Religious Freedom

It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the impact of immigration on religious diversity, which is one of the central constituents of the multicultural society of Europe. On the one hand, immigration has deeply transformed Europe's social and religious landscape, introducing new beliefs, new rites and new customs. On the other hand, migratory flows increase the social weight of the existing religious minorities, and strengthen the role of religious rules as a part of the collective identity of these minorities. This book contains a critical discussion of the policies and the variety of hermeneutics on the jurisprudence of two EU member states, the United Kingdom and Italy, as they relate to religious freedom on a multicultural and multi-religious social stage. The book therefore provides an important opportunity to advance the understanding of how migratory flows redefine, from a juridical point of view, ethical and religious pluralism. The volume combines a theoretical analysis with a detailed assessment of the key case law faced by practitioners, in order to emphasise how the judicial trends in whether new religious behaviours are allowed or are limited are linked to the actual multi-confessional landscape.