Contenuti per la categoria: Religione e società

SOMMARIO: 1. Premessa - 2. Il caso Casamitjana Costa v. The League Against Cruel Sports - 3. Il veganismo nella giurisprudenza italiana - 4. Pari dignità delle coscienze … - 5. (segue) e specificità del fenomeno confessionale - 6. Definire le convinzioni personali tra libertà del singolo e necessità di accertamento - 7. Spunti conclusivi.

Beyond religious pluralism. Veganism as an expression of freedom of conscience

ABSTRACT: A recent judgement of the Employment Tribunals and a following one of the Tribunal of Bologna recognized veganism as a belief worth of protection. The two judges went beyond the bounds of the religious sphere, exploring the horizon of cultural pluralism, which the Italian Republic, as a secular state, should guarantee. The sentences therefore represent a starting point for addressing the complex issue of the relationship between law and conscience, which recently acquired major importance. As a matter of fact, according to an authoritative doctrine, there is a tendency in all Western legal systems to leave moral or ethical matters to individual self-determination, in accordance with the personalist and pluralist principle. This contribution will then start from the examination of the sentences and then it will deal with some of the main problems concerning freedom of conscience and its protection.

SOMMARIO: 1. La figura del “reato culturalmente motivato” e l’idea di multiculturalismo - 2. L’eterogeneità della categoria dei reati culturalmente motivati. Il principio di offensività come canone ermeneutico e veicolo di un approccio interdisciplinare - 3. Il “porto” del kirpan: l’approccio ‘fonografico’ del giudice di legittimità nell’ordinamento italiano - 4. La reasonable accomodation nell’interpretazione pluralista della Corte Suprema Canadese attraverso il caso Multani. Spunti per una comparazione - 5. L’„accomodation” alla prova del paradigma sicuritario. La vicenda del riconoscimento della personalità giuridica della comunità sikh in Italia.

Rethinking the antinomy of the cultural offence. Hypotheses from a legal-philosophical perspective

ABSTRACT: The essay is intends to problematize the epistemological perspective which, in the Italian system, upholds the judicial interpretation related to the cases that can be ascribed to the category of the so-called cultural offence. In this regard, t he article is focused on the case-law concerning the religious practices of the sikh believer and on the legal recognition affair of Sikhism in Italy, identifying this empirical field as a privileged observatory. The topic of the analysis, through the Canadian approach, makes it possible to assess the canons of the prevailing hermeneutics in matter and to envisage hypotheses toward a rethinking of the theoretical assumptions underlying the criminal law enforcement, especially considering non offensive conduct of a religious nature.

SOMMARIO: 1. Ironia 2.0: la vignetta in tempo di pandemia - 2. Satira vs libertà religiosa? - 3. Gioia e umorismo virtù anche cristiane - 4. Nota conclusiva.

Smiling and laughing during pandemic time

ABSTRACT: Are smiling and laughing ethically acceptable in times of Covid-Crisis? The paper tries to suggest an answer by taking into account a selection of comic strips posted on the WEB during the pandemic. The issue is addressed through two major points of view: the balance between the freedom of religion and the freedom of expression and the (possible) expressions of humor in the religious - particularly in the Catholic - tradition.

SUMMARY: 1. Key terms and definitions - 2. Two ways to look at culturally motivated crimes: the case of the kirpan in the Italian and in the Canadian jurisprudence - 3. Moving forward: the Italian Court of Cassation n. 29613/2018 - 3.1. Cultural tests: a comparative insight - 3.2. The cultural test in the Italian judgment of 2018 - 4. Final remarks.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this article is to analyze culturally motivated crimes with a comparative focus and a case law approach. First of all, a set of definitions is given to have a common and shared understanding of the topic at stake. What is culture and what do we mean by culturally motivated crimes? Secondly, a comparative case-law study helps to focus the possible different solutions given to the cultural factor in criminal law. In fact, some legal systems -such as the Canadian one - appear to be more willing than others to make concrete accommodations of cultural differences. Lastly, the latest Italian Court of Cassation suggests a possible direction to be taken to better treat culturally motivated crimes in today’s multicultural society. What does it mean for criminal law to be culturally sensitive? How can courts take into consideration cultural factors through a proper legal method? These are the main questions on which criminal doctrine has focused its attention trying to reshape a criminal model which can be responsive to those different cultural values, needs and interests.

SOMMARIO: 1. Gli interventi contro i Testimoni di Geova nella Federazione Russa - 2. La presenza storica dei Testimoni di Geova nel Paese - 3. La libertà religiosa nella normativa dell’Unione Sovietica - 4. Le leggi sulla libertà di coscienza degli anni ’90 - 5. La legislazione “anti estremismo” e antiterrorismo - 6. Considerazioni conclusive.

“Anti-extremism” Legislation and Religious Freedom in the Russian Federation. The case of Jehovah's Witnesses

ABSTRACT: The application of "anti-extremism" legislation to minority religious groups in the Russian Federation has led to a progressive institutional tightening of the persecution and heavy discrimination, especially against Jehovah's Witnesses. Although many of these legislative instruments have existed for over a decade, the Russian government has only recently begun to use them in sustained campaigns designed to punish or exclude "non-traditional" religions and movements. In the specific case of Jehovah's Witnesses, these measures have taken on the purpose of delegitimising an entire community, solely because of the religious faith being persecuted, with accusations ranging from missionary activity to offending the religious feelings of believers. Overall, these interventions are part of a wider process of ideological control over society, aimed at curbing, if not stifling, the forces of political and religious dissent. It is well known that secularism is based on two fundamental principles: the inviolability of human rights, which constitute the prodrome of political power and therefore of the State, and, secondly, the importance of a culture and institutions that guarantee the effectiveness of pluralism. The analysis of the Russian history is, in this sense, an important perspective because it calls into question the European model of recognition and guarantee of religious pluralism.

SOMMARIO: 1. Breve storia di un storia lunga - 2. La teologia giuridica di Hans Kelsen - 3. La teologia politica di Carl Schmitt - 4. Intermezzo - 5. Il lascito di Schmitt - 6. Il dito e la luna - 7. La religione del valore di Ronald Dworkin - 8. Una conclusione, … per iniziare.

Glory and misery about political theology

ABSTRACT. This paper deals with the interactions between religions and law. In particular, it analyses and discusses Kelsen’s, Schmitt’s, and Dworkin’s theories on legal and/or political theology. Although in different ways, these authors have well perceived a large number of links between religion and law; nevertheless their conceptions about religion are narrow and remains strictly Christian-centred. A wider concept of religion - as it has been conceptualized by anthropological and social studies - could reveals how many religious concepts underlie legal systems all over the world, and how much (Christian) religion is masked even in western secular law and institutions.

SUMMARY: 1. Scholar challenges and epistemological pitfalls - 2. Traditional Muslim hermeneutics and the development of schools of Jurisprudence - 3. Jurist’s authority and ruler’s governance from a comparative perspective - 4. Muslim legal tradition of plural jurisdictions - 5. The open scholar question of reciprocal legal influences with other juridical systems - 6. Conclusive remarks.

ABSTRACT: This article analyzes several open scholar debates regarding the Muslim legal system, from the conventional narrative of its formation and the triumph of the Traditionalist movement to the disputed question of reciprocal legal influences with other religious and secular juridical systems. This research tries to avoid two epistemological risks: first, the dangers of a simplistic binary debate like traditionalists v. revisionists, religious v. secular, or even Sunnis v. Shiite reducing the analysis to an ideologically polarized and ineffective dispute; and second, the improper use of juridical neologisms applied to the Islamic legal system, mainly from codified European continental law and English common law as a result of the Orientalist, colonialist, and secularist mentalities that, instead clarification create confusion. From a hermeneutical point of view, two characteristics to keep in mind: 1) the notion of divine law and its legal implications; and 2) the relationship between law and theology that is not correlative to the connection between secular legislation and ideology. From a comparative point of view, three challenging questions to address: 1) the distinction between Usul al-fiqh and Usul al-qanun often blurred in practice showing the complexities of the relationship among religious, legal, and political structures under Muslim ruling; 2) the intertwined relationship among Sharia, fiqh, and siyasa with pre-Islamic administrative, legal, and judicial traditions; 3) Jurisdictional pluralism in the Islamic legal practice concerning non-Muslim minorities.

Venerdì 24 luglio 2020 la Turchia, o meglio il suo premier Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, ha riaperto al culto islamico il simbolo stesso di Istanbul rappresentato dal complesso monumentale di Santa Sofia. Una vicenda triste per la civiltà, che vede un gioiello artistico di valore universale piegato al nazionalismo religioso. Per la verità l’edificio non è nuovo ai cambi d’uso, come non lo sono altri manufatti di pregio che hanno attraversato i secoli, ma in questo caso non si tratta di un nuovo utilizzo ma di un ritorno al tempo della dominazione ottomana.  Tuttavia, questo non è un ritorno alle origini, perché - come sappiamo - Santa Sofia, costruita per l’imperatore Giustiniano in soli cinque anni dal 532 al 537, è considerata il capolavoro della nuova architettura basilicale bizantina quale espressione della “romanità cristiana e universale della cultura giustinianea”.

Cardinal Gasparri, Francesco Saverio Nitti and the basilica of Hagia Sophia

In reference to the current events that see the return to the destination for Islamic worship of the ancient Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, a Vatican document of the years immediately after the First World War is recalled which presents positions opposite to those prevalent today.

SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione - 2. La religione e la vita nella società - 3. Quello che il principio di laicità non è - 4. Lo Stato laico brasiliano - 5. Considerazioni finali.

The secular State and its implications on the brazilian model

ABSTRACT: For many years Law and Religion were subjects considered unnecessary by some, and, by others, analyzed with reservations and featured as a not legal topic. However, both of the matters has become important issues in the political, legal and social discussions, especially during political campaign, when moral, ethical and religious issues are brought to debate. Although many countries, as Brasil - for example, have been disussing the subject, the numerous and different interfaces between them, most of the time do not take into consideration the constitutional foundations, axiological and cultural values, and pasrticularly the spiritual aspect of the human being as the structuring of human life. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to clarify the conceptual unfolding of the Principle of Secularity and the characterization of the Secular State in Brazil, with the aim of demonstrating that the Brazilian model of Secularity does not mean the absence of religiosity in the public sphere, but the guarantee and safeguard all your expressions.

SOMMARIO: 1. La bilateralità “necessaria” e i suoi limiti - 2. Le intese apicali e il generale regime di libertà religiosa - 3. Le intese paraconcordatarie e la delegificazione - 4. La bilateralità “diffusa” e le intese ulteriori - 5. Le differenti bilateralità: una questione di metodo?

The "new agreements" State - religious denominations between necessary bilateralism and broad bilateralism

ABSTRACT: The paper analyzes the system of sources of Italian ecclesiastical law in its two pillars of agreed rules and unilateral rules. The former are necessarily the result of an agreement between different legal systems because they govern the specific relations between the State and individual religious denominations, that is, between sovereign and autonomous entities in their respective orders. The unilateral rules, on the other hand, fall under State jurisdiction because they aim to regulate rights and procedures relating to the generic freedom of conscience of believers, non-believers and other believers. Nevertheless, even in this second area, bilateralism between the State and ethical-religious groups is increasingly being practiced. However, this must not strictly condition State autonomy in the political order, but must aim to enhance the democratic tool of dialogue, as broad as possible, between institutions and intermediate bodies. The two forms of bilateralism (the necessary one and the broad one) are in fact structured within the processes which grant ethical-religious issues varied legal forms and give rise to different types of sources. It is essential that institutional practice does not artfully confuse the two described "bilateralisms", ending up surreptitiously managing all the heterogeneous and plural ethical-religious factor through a single, heavy and comfortable, bureaucratic method based on mere political discretionality.