BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The Law and Religion course aims to make students able to:
A) point out and investigate the European and Italian systems of Law and Religion, their sources and social relevance;
B) recognize the main features of the Italian legislation – unilateral or agreed with religious denominations - which enforces religious freedom;
C) make their own ideas about religious pluralism and its specific issues;
D) compare the Italian system with the main other ones, also in an historical perspective;
E) handle properly the most common practical issues of Italian “Diritto ecclesiastico”, which is also related to relevant issues in Civil and Criminal Law.
Course Prerequisites
None.
Teaching Methods
Lectures, discussion of case law, seminars with visiting scholars and lecturers.
Debate will be encouraged and suggestions from students are welcomed.
Assessment Methods
Oral exam overall the syllabus (about 3 questions).
Answers will be evaluated having regard to:
- coherence between answer and question;
- exhaustiveness of the answer;
- property of language;
- clearness of the answer.
Score will be expressed in thirtieths.
Sufficiency is 18/30.
Further information in class.
Contents
Everyday there are situations in which contemporary societies based on democracy and pluralism must face issues springing out of the coexistence of different values. Such diversities, that sometimes harmonize in a positive way, but sometimes conflict with each other, are often an output of citiziens' religious identitieties and of the social structures in which they gather. We can easily find the juridical consequences of this matter. Just a few examples: does it match with the principles of the Italian legal system that in the name of his religion a Sikh can carry a ritual knife as a part of his clothing? How and how much can the State support and fund religious denominations, be they the Catholic Church, the Protestant Churches, Buddhism or so on? What balances must be made between freedom of worship and health requirements imposed? Should organised atheism be recognised by the legal system as a religious denomination itself? All of these are issues that fall under Italian "Ecclesiastical law", as we traditionally call the discipline that, in its modern version, arose from the 19th Century conflict between the Italian state and the Catholic Church. It is properly the branch of State law that aims at protecting religious freedom and behaviours (either they act according to a religion or to non-religious ethical beliefs), in order to find a solution or prevent as far as possible the disagreements between individual conscience and citizenship.
A) the Italian system of law and religion: definition, sources of law and main features;
B) constitutional guarantees for freedom of religion: freedom of religion or belief; principle of non-discrimination; freedom of religious denominations, their relations with the State;
C) freedom of religion or belief in international law and in the European Convention of Human Rights;
D) civil effects of religious marriage in Italy: substantive and procedural law;
E) religious charities;
F) funding of religious denominations;
G) religion and criminal law;
H) radicalism, terrorism and security governance and religious freedom;
I) teaching of religion;
L) religious freedom and employment.
Online Resources
More information
In order to enhance dialogue and students’ participation in class, personal detailed studies on specific topics will be encouraged and evaluated during the final exam.
Attending class is highly recommended and an intermediate test will be held for attending students. According to subjects taught in class, a proper reference bibliography will be indicated by the teacher.
Non-attending students shall refer to the textbooks and reading lists.