This article deals with recent developments in legislation and court rulings concerning churches. These developments are divergent in terms of the issues they concern and the outcome they show. The article sketches the background of each of these developments and analyses and explains them in the perspective of the principle of church autonomy. It concludes with recommendations to the legislature and the courts as well as churches themselves.

As a special employer, the church has an interest in shaping its own personnel policy in order to achieve the mission and objective. In part, the legislator has met this need. After all, various laws in the field of appointment, terms of employment and dismissal take account of the specific interests of the church as described before. The external border consists of fundamental human rights that are included in the ECHR and the European Directive on equal treatment. It is not always clear where the external border is exactly. The Dutch legislation regarding the battle of ‘church law’ and fundamental rights is not consistent. Moreover, there we notice a tension between national law and the European directive.

In the 19th century in many Western states, the close relationship between Church and State came to an end and the Roman Catholic Church developed into a major and active player on social and educational level in society separate from the State.
This was due, on the one hand, to the constitutional changes in the Western states from the end of the 18th century, which led to the gradual introduction of the formal principle of separation of Church and State. On the other hand, it was a result of the search for a new position of the Roman Catholic Church in society that also influenced the theological reflection of the Church on society.
The ecclesiastical reflection on the ideal relationship between Church and State took shape in the course of this process in the Ius Publicum Ecclesiasticum. The ecclesiastical view on the relationship between believers/citizens, society and State simultaneously took shape in Catholic social doctrine, which today still offers a model for modern society. In Catholic social doctrine, the believer/citizen is the connecting element between Church and State in a secular society. The ‘state doctrine’ of the Catholic Church is presented in Catholic social doctrine as an ideal image of the democratic constitutional state in which man is central and forms the central link between Church, society and secular State.

The liberal stance regarding religious freedom starts from a particular anthropology, which holds that in order to become fully human citizens must be able to build their lives on the foundations of their religious convictions. This starting point leads to distinctive conceptions of constitutionalism and democracy that make it possible for citizens to keep faith in liberal democracy. The so-called new critics of religious freedom, to the contrary, run the risk of eventually eroding trust in government by putting their substantial ideas of liberal democracy first and demanding of citizens and their organizations to act in conformity with these ideas.

Dutch profit tax does not formally exclude religious organisations. Therefore, these organisations may have to pay tax over their income. The way this tax is determined is dictated by the law on corporate taxation: Wet op de vennootschapsbelasting 1969. In practice however, religious organisations are seldom taxed. In this article I investigate whether there is a formal reason to exclude this type of organisations from taxation, leading to the conclusion that there is no such reason.

Religion-related stress is the product of a predominantly secular society in which people are confronted with diverse religious practices. The phenomenon occurs where public meets private. How can employers ensure compliance with conflicting religious and other commitments in the workplace? The concept of respectful pluralism as formulated by Douglas Hicks in his book Religion and the Workplace, may go a long way to negotiating a solution to the debate between conformity and diversity.

Nowadays the interest in and valuation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is impressive, but when it comes to the effective implementation of CSR in business practices there seems to be a large gap. In order to advance CSR, it is important to know what motivates executives to contribute to CSR. Religiosity may be a motivational driver of CSR. I investigated whether religiosity influences executives’ view of and contribution to CSR. Based on empirical research conducted among 473 executives, I find that traditional religiosity leads to a philanthropic orientation towards CSR and a significant higher contribution to CSR in terms of charity. Otherwise, I find that non-traditional religiosity leads to a financial orientation towards CSR and a significant higher contribution to CSR in terms of diversity.

A fundamental principle of a just society is autonomy of societal or communal spheres. This principle contributes to a society in which people develop their own lifestyles according to their own personal convictions. The author argues that such plurality of society will be disrupted if the principle of equality becomes the dominant principle thereby undermining the sovereignty of the communal spheres.

In the recover phase following every disaster or crisis, the challenges are plenty. Government agencies and other organizations and individuals have to deal with activities ranging from medical care for victims, to judicial procedures and environmental cleaning. Religious organizations have important added value in providing spiritual and social care. They might provide necessary information to victims and others who are directly or indirectly affected by a crisis. This is something that needs to be recognized in both planning and recovery activities by local government. A correct diagnose of the recovery phase must include an analysis of the affected groups and the necessary stakeholders.