1st Edition

Business, Religion and the Law Church and Business Autonomy in The Secular Economy

By Matteo Corsalini Copyright 2023

    This book investigates the intersection between business and religion from a legal perspective. Taking a fresh look at some of the most compelling literature in law and religion, it proposes a rethinking of what scholars on both sides of the Atlantic have dubbed “church autonomy” or, more recently, “corporate religious freedom”.

    The volume explores how, in the wake of a decade of US Supreme Court case law, corporate religious freedom is now increasingly being extended to protect the religious liberty of another corporate entity: the for-profit corporation. By exposing this shift from church to business autonomy in American law, it is argued that a similar narrative has also begun to take place in Europe. Through a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to corporate religious freedom, the work provides the reader with a new, comprehensive, and easily accessible history of the genesis and evolution of this legal category in American and European law.

    The book combines material that straddles international law and religion, corporate law, and economic theory. The diversity of views contained within it makes it a valuable resource for scholars and students in law and religion, corporate social responsibility, and law and economics.

    Table of cases

    Table of international instruments

    Preface

    Introduction

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    Methodology

    Structure

    Reference list

    PART 1

    Church autonomy

    1 Framework

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    United Nations

    European institutions

    The European Union

    Conclusion

    Reference list

    2 Employment

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    The European Court of Human Rights

    The United States Supreme Court

    The Court of Justice of the European Union

    Conclusion

    Reference list

    PART II

    Business autonomy

    3 Neutrality-based companies

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    The Court of Justice of the European Union Sequel: in the aftermath of Achbita v. G4S Secure Solutions

    Conclusion

    Reference list

    4 Faith-based companies

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    The United States Supreme Court

    Sequel: in the aftermath of Burwell v Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

    The European Commission and Court of Human Rights

    The European Court of Human Rights

    Conclusion

    Reference list

    Concluding remarks

    MATTEO CORSALINI

    Findings

    Looking forward (to being in good “company”)

    Reference list

    Index

    Biography

    Matteo Corsalini is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Padua— School of Law, Italy.

    "Religious organisations and the business sector are increasingly intertwined as the global economy is moving beyond its modern secular concept. This informative and challenging book provides a groundbreaking account from which scholars, actors and general leadership have a lot to learn for the sake of their knowledge and strategies."

    Professor Marco Ventura, University of Siena, Italy