Religious representation as discrimination? The Romanian National Council for Combating Discrimination’s <i>Nymphs and Zombies</i> case

This case commentary examines a recent decision by Romania’s equality agency, the National Council for Combating Discrimination (NCCD). The Nymphs and Zombies decision concerns several displays in an art exhibition hosted by the Bucharest City Museum in 2023, which included unconventional crucifixion scenes and “distortions” of classical Byzantine representations of the Virgin with Child. The NCCD found that the artist, the museum, the curator, and the organizer of the exhibition had engaged in and facilitated incitement to religious hatred and had created a hostile and intimidating environment for members of Christian communities of the Byzantine rite. The artist was issued a caution ( avertisment ) for discrimination, while the other three respondents were additionally fined. The article provides a description of the facts and of the decision, then examines several important gaps in the ruling, as well as its significance in the equality agency’s recent case law.