Discrimination based on religion or belief in the organization of a school event

XX.10.2024 National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal of Finland

In spring 2023, a school arranged a concert for all pupils during a school day in which the artist was a known missionary and a performer of religious music. Based on the information received on the content of the concert, the principal of the school had assumed that the concert was suitable for all pupils regardless of their religion or belief. Only during the concert had it become clear that the concert consisted of religious music. On the basis of the report presented, the Tribunal considered it undisputable that the concert had ultimately been an opportunity to practise Christianity. 

The National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal was of the opinion that by organising a denominational event and not providing corresponding alternative activities for it, the school had in practice treated the applicant less favourably on the basis of religion or belief than the pupils whose religion had been in line with the event. The Tribunal was of the opinion that there was a presumption of direct discrimination against the applicant because of their religion or beliefs. 

The respondent argued that they had not intended to organise an opportunity to practise a religion. Instead, the intention was to organise an event suitable for everyone. The Tribunal stated that the respondent did not therefore argue that their actions were based on law or that there was an acceptable objective for the actions. The Tribunal was of the opinion that consequently, the respondent’s actions were a direct discrimination against the applicant on the basis of religion or belief and prohibited the respondent from repeating the discrimination. The Tribunal recommended that the respondent pay a compensation of EUR 1,500 to the applicant. In addition, the Tribunal was of the opinion that the school had neglected its obligation to promote the equality of pupils regardless of religion or belief when it had not properly ensured that the content of the event was universally humanist and thus suitable for all. 

In autumn 2023, the city organised a concert at the applicant’s school; the concert was similar those held for all pupils in the city on grades 1 to 6. The performer at the applicant’s school was one that played several instruments simultaneously and sang, and the performer’s name was mentioned in the notification about the concert. According to the information provided by the applicant, the performer is known as a performer of Christian music, but no other account of the performer’s background had been presented. Based on the message sent to the guardian by the Communications Manager of Concert Centre Finland, the performer writes and performs non-religious songs about the lives of children and young people and the school concert consisted of such songs. The Tribunal was of the opinion that there was no presumption of discrimination and that the respondent’s communication about the concert had to be considered sufficient from the perspective of the duty to promote equality.

The parish choir had performed at the school in 2024, and the choir activities of the parish were presented in this event. The performance was arranged during the school day for all the school’s pupils on grades 3–6. The notification about the performance did not state that attending the event was voluntary for all pupils, not just those whose school day had ended before the event. The Tribunal stated that advertising the activities of the parish in an event common for all, especially without informing the pupils’ guardians about it in advance, was likely to put the pupils in an unequal position based on religion or belief, and at the very least did not promote equality of the pupils regardless of their religion or belief. 

The Tribunal was of the opinion that the school had neglected its duty to promote equality insofar as it had failed to mention in its notification that the choir was a parish choir and the activities of the parish had been advertised in a common event. This assessment had to be made despite the fact that the performance of the choir was in itself suitable for everyone. The Tribunal obligated the applicant’s school to take measures to promote equality.