Religious symbols in european public schools: the difficult balance between secularism and religious freedom

Religious diversity, while being an important part of contemporary social landscapes, represents a source of tensions and conflicts that often require a judicial solution, both at national and at supranational level. In this paper we will focus on a specific topic within this wide field, i.e. the use of religious symbols in European public schools. Some cases about the display of symbols inside school premises, and about the use of religious symbols or dresses by pupils or teachers, were settled by national courts or reached the Europan Couurt of Human Rights. In the paper we will review the most relevant ones (such as the Bavarian "crucifix case", the Moise v. Ministry of education case in Romania, the cases against the french regulation on headscarves and Lautsi v. Italy case) focusing on the principle of subsidiarity and the margin of appreciation doctrine as tools allowing the EHR Court to set a balance between religious rights and other legitimate general interests.