Abstract

The essay, dedicated to the memory of Umberto Romagnoli, deals with the presence of religious symbols in the workplace, and it begins by suggesting that the relevant current legal problems could be investigated in the light of one of Romagnoli’s intellectual legacy, i.e. the idea of post-industrial citizenship. It is then argued that the two issues mostly debated by courts – the crucifix by the ECtHR and the Islamic headscarf by the CJEU – are commonly analysed through different conceptual categories (respectively: religius freedom and antidiscrimination law), whereas on the contrary a single epistemological frame should be used for both. It is submitted that two possible options are in principle available: a fully multicultural recognition of any religious symbols in the workplace, and a general ban of them. While the former presents the danger to foster hyper-identitarian drifts weakening common citizenship bonds, the latter – where adopted – could be considered as more coherent with the idea of a secular and universalistic citizenship as historically built on religious neutrality. A brief analysis of the CJEU case-law is finally offered in order to support such conclusion.