Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 17 March 2026 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesarbeitsgericht – Germany) – Katholische Schwangerschaftsberatung v JB

(Case C-258/24,  (1) Katholische Schwangerschaftsberatung)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Social policy - Directive 2000/78/EC - Equal treatment in employment and occupation - Occupational activities within churches and other organisations the ethos of which is based on religion or belief - Association providing counselling on pregnancy to pregnant women - Occupational requirements - Acting in good faith and with loyalty to the ethos of the church or organisation - Difference of treatment on grounds of religion or belief - Dismissal of a worker on the ground of her leaving the Catholic church)

(C/2026/2855)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Bundesarbeitsgericht

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Katholische Schwangerschaftsberatung

Defendant: JB

Operative part of the judgment

Article 4(1) and (2) of Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, in the light of Article 10(1) and Article 21(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

must be interpreted as precluding national legislation under which a private organisation the ethos of which is based on a religion may require of an employee who is a member of a certain church practising that religion not to leave that church during the employment relationship, on pain of dismissal or, in order to continue the employment relationship, to rejoin that church after leaving it, even though

—	that organisation employs other persons to carry out the same duties as those of the employee in question, without requiring that those persons be members of that church, and

—	that employee does not openly act in a manner that is antagonistic to the church concerned,

where, in the light of the nature of the occupational activities of that employee or of the context in which those activities are carried out, those occupational requirements are not genuine, legitimate and justified having regard to that organisation’s ethos.

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(1)  OJ C, C/2024/4839.