The constitution guarantees freedom of religion, including the freedom to public religious practice and to manifest religious opinions, as long as no crime is committed in exercising that freedom. While the constitution guarantees the right to assemble peacefully without prior authorization, it stipulates that open-air religious or other meetings are subject to regulation by police. The constitution prohibits compulsory participation in or attendance at church services or observance of religious days of rest and stipulates that a religious marriage ceremony must be preceded by a civil marriage ceremony to be recognized by the state. The constitution provides for the regulation of relations between religious groups and the state, including the role of the state in appointing and dismissing religious clergy and the publication of documents by religious groups, through conventions between the state and individual religious groups.
On July 15, parliament passed a new law that among other things formally approved the new conventions that had been agreed upon in 2015 with six recognized religious communities. The law also eliminated the previous system in which religious workers were civil servants with government-funded salaries and pensions. Previously-employed clergy members continue to receive their salaries from the government and are grandfathered into the government-funded pension system; the government will not fund salaries or pensions for new employees. The government still provides financial support to the six recognized religious communities, but under the new law, the total amount of funding is capped at one-third the previous amount, and the amount for each community is determined based on the number of adherents. Under the new law, the Catholic Church lost significant funding, while the other communities saw increased funding. Under the law, the religious communities will continue to receive the previous funding to cover salaries of religious workers grandfathered into the former system. These numbers will gradually decrease as these religious workers retire or leave for other reasons. The new, agreed-upon levels will apply once the decreasing funding levels reach these newly established minimums. The amounts agreed to in the conventions are as follows: 6,750,000 euros ($7,112,750) to the Catholic community; 315,000 euros ($331,930) to the Jewish community; 285,000 euros ($300,320) to the Orthodox community; 450,000 euros ($474,180) to the Protestant community; 450,000 euros ($474,180) to the Muslim community; and 125,000 euros ($131,720) to the Anglican community.
Under the new law, local administrative communes are no longer responsible for covering deficits of religious communities within their communes. Previously, communes were required to cover the deficit for operating expenses that contributions from parishioners did not cover.
Under the conventions, government funding to any given religious community will be cancelled if the government determines that the religious community does not uphold three agreed-upon principles: respect for human rights, national law, and public order.
To qualify for a convention with the state, a religious community must establish an official and stable representative body with which the government can interact and must be a recognized world religion. The following religious groups signed conventions with the state in January 2015, and therefore receive support: the Catholic Church; the Greek, Russian, Romanian, and Serbian Orthodox Churches as one community; the Anglican Church; the Reformed Protestant Church of Luxembourg and the Protestant Church of Luxembourg as one community; the Jewish community; and the Muslim community. Groups without signed conventions, such as the Bahai community, may operate freely but receive no state support.
Previously, religious instruction in public schools was managed locally, coordinated between representatives of the Catholic Church and 105 communes. Parents and pupils chose between instruction in Catholicism or an ethics course, and government-salaried Catholic religious instructors taught the religion and ethics courses at all levels in public schools. Schools exempted students from the Catholic or ethics instruction on an individual basis.
Under the July 15 law, as well as laws enacted on May 27 and July 7, religious education in public schools was abolished and replaced by a course called “Life and Society.” The July 15 law mandated the new course. The May 27 law effected the change for primary schools, beginning in the 2017-18 scholastic year. The July 7 law applied the change to secondary schools, effective in the 2016-17 year. According to the laws, religious instructors affected by the change in law may teach the new Life and Society course if qualified under the new provisions (including holding a bachelor’s degree), agree to adhere to the new curriculum, and participate in a “reorientation” course.
The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.