Alessandro Ferrari

Since 1989 “Muslim veils” have epitomized the debate on the effective universality and inclusiveness of the “European political model”. This debate has re-emphasized the political role of the European right to religious freedom casting new light on some of its main assumptions that seemed well established after the post-Second World war constitutional turning point: the primacy of the individual dimension; the religious autonomy and the cooperation between states and religious groups in a frame characterized by secularization and a legal thin secularity.
Following “Muslim veils”, the paper will outline the present characters of the European right(s) to religious freedom highlighting its new political meaning through the investigation of the tensions between old nationalistic paradigms and universalistic pressures; the change in the interpretation of its basic pillars and its use in the fabrication of legally accepted religions in tune with societal systems in slow exit from modernity.