ORFECT (Observatory on Religious Freedom in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights) is an interdepartmental research center and international scholarly network, hosted by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and involving over 40 researchers from its Departments of Law, Education, and Cultural Studies. While originally focused on monitoring ECtHR jurisprudence on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), ORFECT has progressively evolved into a broader platform for interdisciplinary inquiry into intercultural law and the legal significance of religious facts in contemporary societies. Its research explores the complex entanglements between law, culture, and religion—investigating how plural symbolic systems interact within democratic legal frameworks and how courts mediate between competing claims rooted in divergent worldviews. Beyond doctrinal analysis, ORFECT promotes theoretical and empirical studies on intercultural legal translation, religious diversity management, and the juridical challenges posed by normatively dense practices such as rituals, sacred speech, or embodied belief. Through conferences, training programs, and public engagement, ORFECT fosters a legal culture attentive to non-discrimination, pluralism, and the equal dignity of all forms of life interpretation.

The aim of the “Observatory on Religious Freedom in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights” (ORFECT) is to analyze the decisions of the ECtHR impacting on FoRB from the perspective of the secularism and non-discrimination. In particular, ORFECT will address cases related to religious freedom presented before the Court, study possible solutions and provide recommendations and opinions to be possibly used in a trial. ORFECT, moreover, will promote a culture of respect of religious freedom, non-discrimination and equal opportunities by means of awareness and communication campaigns other than positive action projects; it will organize and manage conferences and seminars, studies, researches and training activities regarding reasons, forms and possible solutions about religious freedom and non-discrimination.