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1. GeneralA religious community ( Religionsgemeinschaft) is a concept of German state church law used since the 18th-century Enlightenment to designate in a neutral way a corporation of the followers of a religious conviction. It does not contain any theological judgment and allows the state to avoid taking a position with respect to the validity of the religious doctrine it represents. The historical evolution of the concept is connected to the process of secularization (legal) in the early modern period and the development of religious toleration and denominational parity.Re…

1. AllgemeinR. ist ein Begriff des dt. Staatskirchenrechts, mit dem seit der Aufklärung im 18. Jh. in neutraler Weise der korporative Zusammenschluss von Anhängern einer relig. Überzeugung bezeichnet wird. Er enthält keine theologische Wertung und ermöglicht es dem Staat, eine Stellungnahme zum Wahrheitsgehalt der jeweils vertretenen relig. Lehre zu vermeiden. Die histor. Ausformung des Begriffs ist mit dem nzl. Säkularisations-Prozess und der Entwicklung hin zu relig. Toleranz und Parität verknüpft.René Pahud de Mortanges2. Frühe NeuzeitDas frühnzl. Staatskirchenrech…

I. Social Facts The federal census of 2010 reports the following religious affiliations among the Swiss population: 38.6% Roman Catholic; 28% Swiss Protestant; 5.5% other Christian; 0.2% Jewish; 4.5% Muslim; and 1.1% non-Western beliefs (Hindu, Buddhist); 20.1% of the population does not belong to any religious denomination. The religious or denominational affiliation of the remaining 2% of the population is not known. The numbers concerning religion and denominations have remained relatively uncha…

previous chapter Art. 124 Sec. 1 of the Swiss Criminal Code penalises the mutilation of female genitals such as is practised in some traditional Muslim countries, mostly based on cultural-traditional ba…

previous chapter The interface between religion and school raises delicate legal issues which are difficult to answer. Rights and obligations of various actors may be affected: public schools as state i…

previous chapter Swiss citizenship consists of a minimum of three citizenships: every Swiss is a citizen of the Confederation and at least one canton and one municipality (Art. 12 Sec. 1 of the Swiss Citizenship Act, SCA). The naturali…

previous chapter According to Art. 35 Sec. 3 of the Federal Constitution, the authorities shall ensure that fundamental rights also apply to relationships among private persons. Thus, this provision est…

previous chapter Art. 15 Sec. 1 of the Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion which, for historical reasons, is called ‘freedom of conscience and belief’. The courts use both terms synonymously…

Title footnote1 previous chapter Successful integration of foreign nationals is decisive for certain legal consequenc

previous chapter Regulations about pastoral care within state institutions have been enacted in five fields: asylums, penal institutions, hospitals, civilian alternative service and—in a very detailed w…

previous chapter The responsibility for regulating the relationship between the state and religious communities lies with the cantons (Art. 72 Sec. 1 of the Constitution). Although there are 26 regulati…

previous chapter Switzerland prohibits the building of minarets (Art. 72 Sec. 3 of the Federal Constitution). This amendment to the Constitution was made on 29 November 2009, when a popular initiative l…

previous chapter Normally, Islamic communities in Switzerland are organised in the form of associations, in rare cases as foundations. The law governing associations is part of the Swiss Civil Code; mor…

previous chapter Founded in 1291 by the coming together of three districts, the Swiss Confederation at the beginning of the 16th century consisted of a conglomeration of autonomous states ( Stände) which were connected by a networ…

previous chapter 1 Marriage To be able to marry, the parties must have reached eighteen years of age (Art. 94 Sec. 1 of the Swiss Civil Code). Until recently though, a marriage concluded with a minor was …

previous chapter If Swiss private international law in a specific case requires the application of foreign law which provides for a solution that in a serious way conflicts with the Swiss sense of justi…

previous chapter From the respect for human dignity (Art. 7 of the Federal Constitution) derives inter alia the right to a decent burial, meaning that the authorities may not allocate burial plots in a …

previous chapter In Switzerland, it is prohibited by law to slaughter animals according to the rites laid down in Islamic dietary law, e.g. by cutting the trachea and aesophagus without prior anaesthesi…

previous chapter Apart from the headgear of Muslim women, wearing traditional Islamic clothing is not subject to any restrictions in Switzerland. Nonetheless, there are some specific situations that—for…

[German Version] I. Church History – II. Church Law I. Church History Within the church's general duty to confront heresies, there has been, since the time of the Early Church, a particular responsibility to counteract heresies held by those that hold church offices. Until the late Middle Ages, this task was fulfilled by synodal or episcopal, and ultimately, papal decree – in the West, after a p…