Religious freedom and the Covid-19 pandemic: Patterns of state restrictions in the 16 German Länder 2020-2022

Religious freedom is one of the central fundamental rights protected by the constitution. After the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, this fundamental right was initially severely restricted in Germany by prohibiting gatherings of several people, including religious ones, during the lockdown. The bans were finally eased, also due to several court decisions, but religious events were still subject to numerous restrictions. In the first step, the analysis aims to identify differences regarding relevant dimensions of the policy, both between the 16 ‘Länder’ and over time in the period under study. To this end, an index is being developed that captures essential aspects of the policies. The regulations are collected from several hundred ordinances of the ‘Länder’, whereas each legal change within the two years is coded. Using the index scores, it is possible to show comparing the 16 ‘Länder’ and the different phases of the pandemic which regulations were more or less restrictive. The second step is to find out which influencing factors (e.g. partisan composition of government or infection rates) are responsible for the differences.