Travail
Lieu de travail, vêtements, nourriture
The last decades increasing part of the population with a foreign background has implied greater cultural and religious diversity. Traditions from other countries to visibly express religious belonging and identity at workplaces, schools or other public contexts differ from the Swedish social norm to keep to the private sphere. Tensions between these different traditions demonstrate the two sides of the principle of freedom of religion, freedom to religion and freedom from religion, and sometimes cause conflicts.
For example, the use of traditional clothing, like the headscarf for Muslims or the Sikh turban, often leads to negotiations at local level in work places. Such negotiations are normally solved through mutual agreement, since the laws on freedom of religion and the law against discrimination does not regulate or describe how they shall be interpreted in practice, for example concerning the right to wear religious garments or rights to specific religious food etc. The most controversial discussions on clothing has been on the issue of whether the Muslim burqa should be accepted in public spaces, and whether someone working in public service, like a police, teacher, judge etc. can wear clothes which mark religious belonging, e.g. a hijab or the Sikh turban. There is no specific law regulating rights certain rights or rules concerning religious clothing or food or similar traditions. When conflicts cannot be solved by negotiations and agreements they are sometimes brought up in the special Labour Court, the District Court, or handled by the Equality Ombudsman.
4 septembre 2024 Per Pettersson
