The EUCJ Ruling in Katholische Schwangerschaftsberatung v. JB and Its Impact on Ecclesiastical Labor Law in Germany

Judith Hahn is Professor of Canon Law at the University of Bonn and McDonald Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University.

On 17 March 2026, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) issued a judgment regarding Catholic institutions in Germany and their employment relationships, in Katholische Schwangerschaftsberatung v. JB. The ruling established that a Catholic employer, in this case a pregnancy counseling office at Caritas, cannot terminate a contract of employment solely on the basis of the employee’s leaving the Catholic Church. The Court determined that such a dismissal constitutes unequal treatment, unless the employee’s church membership is a genuine, legitimate, and necessary requirement for the specific occupation. While acknowledging the right of churches to self-determination in employment matters, the CJEU determined the dismissal to be unlawful, as the employer did not generally require staff to be Catholic and had employed non-Catholics in similar roles.

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Voicing Sharp Religious Opposition to the War in Iran: A Case Study from the Roman Catholic Community

Thomas Massaro, S.J., is McGinley Endowed Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University

As this essay is being written, it has been more than a month since the February 28 outbreak of hostilities between Israel and the U.S. (on one hand) and Iran (on the other hand). Public criticism of the war has been widespread. Political opponents (and even some normally supportive voices) have complained about the evident lack of planning, unclear objectives, and seeming disregard for the consequences of launching this “war of choice.” The shifting justifications for launching the war (including incoherent gestures toward the urgency of regime change and terminating Iran’s looming nuclear capability) have proven broadly unconvincing. The April 1 White House address of President Trump, broadcast in prime TV time, added little clarity.

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Illiberal Democracies and Religion: Interview with Renáta Uitz

In 2018, Hungarian Prime-Minister Viktor Orbán labeled the country’s political regime an “illiberal Christian democracy,” emphasizing his government’s interest in appropriating Christianity for the illiberal democratic context and Hungary’s clashes with more liberal members of the EU and with the Union itself. Professor Renáta Uitz (Royal Holloway, University of London; CEU Democracy Institute) discusses the origin and phenomenon of illiberal democracies in Eastern Europe and beyond and explains why and how these regimes utilize religion and religious groups for political ends. Uitz focuses on different sources of Hungarian and Polish political Christian theology and the role of “traditional values” incorporated into several Eastern European constitutions. She also elaborates on how illiberal regimes tame and silence democratically oriented religious communities and clergy by making oppositional activities too costly for them.

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