MENUNewsletter 2/2025
Updates from the Project Coordinator
We have now reached the end of this year of work, which has seen the entire ATLAS group engaged in both expanding the project and promoting it to academia and various stakeholders.
As you may recall, we are also continuing to expand the number of countries studied. Next year, we plan to publish data from Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Malta.
In February and May, we organised two workshops to reflect on the project data, which were well received by the public. If you did not have the opportunity to participate, you can find recordings of the meetings on the multimedia page of the website.
In November, the workshop Atlas of Religious or Belief Minority Rights was held in Trento, Faculty of Law, University of Trento, 21-22 November 2025. The event was funded by the University of Trento within the context of the project “Minorities across time and space”.
Rossella Bottoni then participated in the CUREDI Annual Conference held by the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology (Halle, 28 November 2025), presenting the ATLAS project, and on 9 December, Perparim Uxhi and I have been in Geneva at the United Nations Palace for the “Peace and Human Rights Conference – Better Together”, organised by the Association for Human Rights and Tolerance Onlus, where many RBM representatives were present and we had the opportunity to highlight how the ATLAS project is useful for monitoring minority rights in order to build a sustainable and inclusive future of peace.
So, the ATLAS is an ongoing project, always challenging and satisfying, to which each of us contributes.
If you are interested in collaborating with us, I warmly invite you to get in touch with us at info@atlasminorityrights.eu
Cristiana Cianitto
Updates from National Legal Experts
Belgium
Reading Recommendation: Franken, Leni. 2019. Learning to live together: Religious education and religious symbols in Flanders and Québec. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice 15(3): 290–304
Greece
New legislative changes concerning recognition of religious communities and places of worship
Law 5224/2025 constitutes an important regulatory framework for religious law in Greece, introducing comprehensive regulations following Law 4201/2014 that also addresses religious minorities by regulating significant matters concerning the exercise of worship. The most important points include:
A. The recognition of the Church of Sweden in Greece as a religious legal entity is established in Article 44 of Law 5224/2025. Specifically, case (i) is added to paragraph 5 of Article 13 of Law 4301/2014, through which the Church of Sweden is legally recognized in Greece as a historical Church with legal religious personality by law. This regulation is part of the framework for organizing the legal form of religious communities and their associations in Greece.
B. The recognition of the religious community of Bektashi Alevi Muslims of Thrace is established by Law 5224/2025, which recognizes it as a private law legal entity according to Article 49, which in paragraph 1 states the following: "The religious community of Bektashi Alevi Muslims of Thrace is recognized as a religious legal entity under private law according to Article 2 of Law 4301/2014 (A' 223) under the name 'Bektashi Alevi Muslims of Thrace Religious Legal Entity', headquartered in Roussa of the local community of Mikro Dereio in the municipal unit of Orfeas of the Municipality of Soufli in the Regional Unit of Evros, without the obligation to submit an application of the religious legal entity through the voluntary jurisdiction procedure before the locally competent Single-Member Court of First Instance."
The Bektashi-Alevis acquire administrative autonomy regarding their places of worship, and simultaneously, the "Management Committee of Bektashi Alevi Muslims of Thrace Vakoufia" of charitable character is established, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, which will manage the vakoufia and worship places of the community. Issues concerning the education of students from the community are also regulated.
This recognition is considered a strategic move for religious freedom and equality within the Muslim minority of Thrace, emphasizing the multifaceted nature of the Islamic world in the region.
C. Part A of Law 5224/2025 concerns the establishment of a public law legal entity under the name "Greek Orthodox Holy Royal Autonomous Monastery of the Holy and God-trodden Mount Sinai in Greece."
Key points:
- The purpose is to represent the Monastery in Greece, study the Greek Orthodox tradition, disseminate ecclesiastical and Byzantine literature, education, and art, as well as organize research and educational programs.
- The legal entity manages the Monastery's assets, resources from donations, inheritances, income from activities, and subsidies.
- Issues of administration, financial management, procurement, and property management of the Monastery are regulated in detail.
- The legal entity has a board of directors that decides on all activities and resources of the Monastery.
This Part organizes the administration and operation of the Sinai Monastery in Greece, enhancing the protection and dissemination of its religious and cultural heritage. A key element is the authorization of the Sinaitic brotherhood that governs the representation by the legal entity in Greece, ensuring that its actual will is safeguarded.
D. Part B of Law 5224/2025 regulates matters under the jurisdiction of the General Secretariat for Religious Affairs and includes basic regulations for places of worship. Specifically:
- Articles 21-22 (Chapter A): Define the purpose and subject matter. The purpose is to ensure the unhindered exercise of the right to worship for all religious communities (except the Eastern Orthodox Church), strengthen ecclesiastical educational institutions, facilitate the charitable work of ecclesiastical institutions, and recognize specific religious communities. The subject matter is the regulation of places of worship (establishment, construction, operation, licensing), attendance at ecclesiastical schools, and the legal regulation of ecclesiastical institutions.
- Articles 23-31 (Chapter B): Regulate places of worship and religious ministers of known religions. Places of worship are defined as prayer houses and temples, their criteria and naming are determined, as well as the licensing procedure by the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports. Strict obligations are established for religious ministers regarding religious identity, publications, etc. Penalties for operating without a license, the procedure for replacement and dismissal of ministers, administrative measures, and the use of properties by public entities for worship purposes are provided. Rules for private places of worship of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ are also defined.
These provisions establish the framework for the legal and operational organization of religious spaces and ministers in Greece outside the Orthodox Church, aiming at transparency, order, and respect for religious freedom.
Italy
Reading Recommendation: Uxhi, Perparim. 2025. "A Structured Map of the Ritual Slaughter Legislation in the Context of the European Union." Religion and Human Rights 20: 59–84
Spain
More on the Recognition of the Bahá’í Community
Meet the Team!
Every newsletter will highlight one team member of the ATLAS. This fall, we would like to introduce to you Alessandro Cupri, responsible for the Media of the project.
Alessandro Cupri is currently a researcher in Law and Religion at the University of Insubria. He obtained his PhD in Law and Pluralism from the University of Milan-Bicocca, writing his thesis on the topic of "Principles of Islamic finance in non-Islamic legal contexts. Potential and prospects of Islamic finance in Italy" and was awarded the grade "Excellent with honors". He also collaborates with Professor Alessandro Ferrari and Professor Antonio Angelucci in the departments of Ecclesiastical Law, Canon Law, and Comparative Law of Religions at the University of Insubria. In 2022, he collaborated on the FAMI project of the Ministry of the Interior-International Forum on Democracies and Religions (FIDR-REMIND), under the scientific supervision of Prof. Ferrari. Furthermore, following a decision by the Scientific Council, he is a member of the Research Center on Religions, Rights, and Economies in the Mediterranean Area (REDESM). In 2022 and 2025, he was a visiting researcher at the Droit Islamique research center of the Institut Suisse de Droit Comparé in Lausanne. His research interests focus on legal and religious pluralism and the socio-economic integration of Muslim communities in Italy, with the aim of cultivating a scientific study of Islamic law. Particular attention has been devoted to legal and religious pluralism and the socio-economic integration of Muslim communities in Italy, with the aim of cultivating a scientific study of religious rights, including in the field of bioethics.
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