SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION AND AUTONOMY OF RELIGIOUS GROUPS IN THE INTER-AMERICAN CASE LAW

Religious freedom encompasses the right of religious groups to define the tenets of their faith and to organise themselves according to these tenets, without arbitrary State interference. However, the limits of religious groups' autonomy are controversial, especially in those cases where the exercise of religious autonomy seems to be at odds with non-discrimination standards. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has adopted many decisions on sexual orientation discrimination, but its case law on religious freedom is much scarcer. The two issues converged in the recent decision Pavez Pavez v Chile, in which the Court set the limits of the autonomy of religious groups when confronted with non-discrimination standards.