Christian Bakery Condemned After Refusing to Bake Same-Sex Wedding Cake
Sweden’s Equality Ombudsman (DO) has ruled against a small Christian bakery in Stockholm who had declined to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in 2023. The decision, published on August 13, 2025, acknowledges that the bakery’s refusal was based on religious conviction and falls under the protection of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Nevertheless, the authority concluded that the refusal constituted unlawful discrimination.
The dispute began in May 2023, when a same-sex couple contacted the bakery with a request for a wedding cake featuring two female figurines (OIDAC reported). The owners, a Christian married couple, declined, citing their biblical belief that marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman. In an email, they explained:
“We believe in God and that the Bible is God’s word. In the Bible, marriage is a holy covenant between a man and a woman. This does not mean that we dislike or disrespect people who choose same-sex relationships, but we are called to love God first with all our heart and then love our neighbour as ourselves.”
The bakery emphasised that same-sex couples are welcome to purchase any other baked goods, but that it would not create wedding cakes for same-sex marriages. The couple reported the incident to the DO, alleging discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
In their response to the authority, the Christian bakery shop stated: "Even if discrimination is deemed to have taken place, it is not related to sexual orientation. A same-sex couple could have ordered any cake if it were not for a wedding."
After two years of processing, the DO explicitly acknowledges that the bakery's refusal is covered by fundamental freedoms and rights under the European Convention. "The company's decision not to bake wedding cakes for same-sex weddings is a manifestation of the business owner's religious beliefs that is protected under the European Convention. The creation of the cake is seen as an expression of the business owner's artistic expression, which is protected under the European Convention," the DO stated.
Despite this acknowledgement the DO ruled that these rights are not absolute and can be limited to protect others. It declared the restriction “reasonable, necessary, and democratic” in order to uphold the principle of equal treatment.
By ending the case at the administrative level, the DO spared the bakery from financial penalties but also avoided a legal battle that could have set precedent in Swedish courts.
The case is reminiscent of American baker Jack Phillips and ‘Masterpiece Cakeshop’ in Colorado, who in 2017 refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding on religious grounds. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled partially in his favour, on the grounds that state authorities had failed to remain neutral towards his beliefs.
In a similar case, the Christian-owned Ashers Baking Company in Northern Ireland refused in 2014 to bake a cake with the slogan “Support Gay Marriage.” After years of litigation, the UK Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that the refusal was directed at the message, not the customer’s sexual orientation, affirming the bakery’s right to freedom of expression and conscience and stressing that no one can be compelled to express a political or moral message they do not believe in.
Source: Samnytt
Photo: Hans Schwarzkopf from Pixabay