The Meaning of ‘Religion’ in Austrian Case Law

This paper aims to examine recent Austrian case law concerning the meaning of “religion” in a two-fold perspective. In the first place, it focuses upon judgments determining the legitimacy (or the illegitimacy) of specific legal rules and administrative practices, grounded on a differentiation between religious groups (for example, between “religious denominations” on the one side, and “sects” or “cults” on the other side). In the second place, it examines decisions concerning the relationship between a religious worldview and the religious groups established on the Austrian territory and claiming to represent that “religion”.