The intersection between refugees and religion. The challenge of assessing religiously based asylum claims in the European legal framework

The present paper investigates the legal issues surrounding religiously based asylum claims and the main patterns adopted in European countries, with a special focus on Italy. It demonstrates the risks resulting from the implementation of contradictory standards across Europe and proposes how European courts could make a signifi cant contribution by establishing common standards. European courts have recently adopted a more interventionist approach, with a view to expanding the range of cases involving religious discrimination, intolerance, and persecution that make the victim worthy of international protection. These recent actions could more effectively safeguard the essential core of religious freedom in all of Europe.