The study Unholy Discrimination addresses conflicts between gender equality and religious freedom, including the lack of female access to leading spiritual offices. In the Roman Catholic Church, canon law forbids female priesthood: "Only a baptised man can validly receive sacred ordination" (can. 1024). The study takes a legal approach to the equal treatment of men and women. It discusses whether this method is appropriate to the field of religion, and also considers conflicts that arise from the state's duty to protect the fundamental rights of all its citizens.

Denise Buser is a lecturer and titular professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Basel, Switzerland.