95707 - RELIGIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

Religion is an element that characterizes the Mediterranean basin, which is the cradle of monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Although religious rights play a central role in the system of human rights, religions have often fueled conflicts and inequalities, sometimes representing a real threat to peace and other human rights. This difficulty in combining the various forms of coexistence in the Mediterranean with the role of religions that, on the one hand, stand as repositories of shared values, and on the other, as rigid cultural expressions exclusive and exclusionary, is the subject of the course. By the end of the course, the student: knows how religion has shaped society and political institutions (and vice versa); is capable of understanding the delicate relationship between religion and respect for human rights; and has the critical tools to comprehend the decisive role played by religion in the production of rights processes.

Contenuti

Il corso si propone di indagare le interazioni tra i diritti umani e i fattori religiosi per capire in che misura essi sono compatibili tra loro o se, altrimenti, non costituiscono un ostacolo allo sviluppo reciproco. Particolare attenzione sarà rivolta al ruolo della religione nella sua funzione pubblica, non solo per l'impatto che genera sulla governance locale, ma anche su quella europea e internazionale. Una volta individuati i diversi sistemi di relazioni che esistono tra lo Stato e le organizzazioni religiose, l'attenzione si sposterà verso l'organizzazione interna e i principali precetti delle varie confessioni religiose. Classificate dalla legge UE come "organizzazioni di tendenza", le confessioni religiose sono riuscite a lungo ad evitare processi forzati di secolarizzazione. Attraverso lo studio di specifica giurisprudenza, dalla parità di genere e di discriminazione sessuale alla bioetica, solo per citare alcuni esempi, il corso mostrerà i profondi cambiamenti che hanno interessato le società interculturali contemporanee negli ultimi anni. Lo sforzo di conformare la giurisprudenza nazionale ai principi del diritto unionale e internazionale è indicativo di un'intensa interazione tra i sistemi nazionali e sovranazionali finalizzata alla creazione di un apparato normativo il più possibile uniforme e omogeneo. Questo approccio evidenzia tuttavia i tanti problemi che interessano l'espressione religiosa, privata e pubblica, che in un simile contesto non riesce sempre a trovare spazio nelle pieghe del "margine di valutazione" della Corte europea dei diritti dell'uomo.

Al termine del corso lo studente sarà in possesso degli strumenti per analizzare e comprendere con spirito critico il rapporto tra i diritti umani e il fattore religioso.

Il corso è composto da tre parti

La prima parte è dedicata alla definizione dei diritti umani visti alla luce del fenomeno religioso. L'analisi dei sistemi di relazioni tra Stato e Chiese e dell'impatto che le confessioni religiose hanno nel diritto sopranazionale sarà oggetto di attenta riflessione per individuare i principali problemi critici che la conquista dello spazio pubblico da parte della religione comporta esso, quali i pericoli derivanti dallo Stato etico.

La seconda parte è dedicata ad uno studio approfondito di casi, sia pratici che di giurisprudenza nazionale e sovranazionale, riguardanti la libertà religiosa e la coscienza individuale e i conflitti che sono sorti tra l'esercizio di quest'ultima e altri diritti umani. Dal diritto di fare proselitismo alla questione dei luoghi di culto, dai simboli religiosi e l'uso di abiti caratterizzati religiosamente alla libertà religiosa alimentare; dal diritto al rispetto della vita privata al diritto all'autonomia personale; dal diritto di educare i figli secondo le proprie convinzioni religiose al diritto di non rivelare le proprie convinzioni religiose o filosofiche, ecc.

Infine, la terza parte è dedicata alle questioni relative al diritto di non compiere atti contrari alle proprie convinzioni religiose. In particolare, sarà esaminato il ruolo delle donne nella pratica della mutilazione genitale femminile, saranno analizzati gli aspetti culturali/religiosi che sembrano giustificare la sua esistenza, nonché la difesa culturale, e gli strumenti adottati dal diritto internazionale e dai vari sistemi di Stati europei e africani per combattere questa pratica controversa.

Testi/Bibliografia

Attending students

The material available on virtuale.unibo (slides, documents, sentences, papers, essays etc.)

The recommended handbook is:

Anello, Giancarlo. Global Religions and Interreligious Dialogue Today: a legal perspective, CEDAM, 2022 [even in Kindle format]

 

Non-attending students

Non-attending students must write an essay of at least 15 pages, inspired by the topics covered in the following bibliography:

• Pasquale Annicchino - Judd Birdsall (2022) Review of Faith and International Affairs, vol.20, NO.4, pp. 4-120
• Tensions within and between religions and human rights, (2012) by Johannes A. Van Der Ven and Hans-Georg Ziebertz, vol. 2, Brill, Leiden-Boston

• Aa.Vv. (2017). The Meaning of ‘Religion’ in Multicultural Societies Law

• Alicino, Francesco. (2017). The place of minority religions and the strategy of major denominations. The case of Italy @font-face, pp. 1-20
• Alicino, Francesco. (2018). Atheism and the Principle of in France. A Shifting Process of Mutual Adaptation, pp. 1-27
• Alicino, Francesco. (2016). Religions and Ethno-Religious Differences in Bosnia and Herzegovina. From Laboratories of Hate to Peaceful Reconciliation, pp. 1-19
• Alicino, Francesco. (2015). Imams and other Religious Authorities in Italy, pp. 1-28
• Alicino, Francesco. (2011). The Universal Constitutionalism in an Age of Religious Diversity, pp. 1-42
• Alicino, Francesco. (2009). Constitutionalism as Peaceful “Site” of Religious Struggles, pp. 1-34
• Angeletti, Silvia. (2012). Freedom of religion, freedom of expression and the United Nations: recognizing values and rights in the “defamation of religions” discourse, pp. 1-20
• Annicchino, Pasquale. (2010). Is the glass half empty or half full? Lautsi v Italy before the European Court of Human Rights, pp. 1-19
• Bottoni, Rossella. (2020). The Italian Experience with Halal Certification: the Case of Halal Italia, pp.1-18
• Gedik, Erdoğan - Birkalan-Gedik, Hande – Madera, Adelaide. (2020). Alevism in Turkey and in Transnational Space: Negotiated Identities between Religion, Culture and Law, pp. 1-63
• Fuccillo, Antonio. (2018). Law and religion as a strategy in favor of profitable cultural osmosis: a wide look to civil law systems, pp. 1-13
• Madera, Adelaide. (2020). Some preliminary remarks on the impact of COVID-19 on the exercise of religious freedom in the United States and Italy, pp. 1-71
• Madera, Adelaide. (2017). More than a playground dispute: il caso Trinity Lutheran Church v. Pauley e le nuove traiettorie interpretative dell’Establishment Clause, pp. 1-29

All the bibliography is open access and is available at the following link: Stato, Chiese e pluralismo confessionale, Rivista telematica (https://www.statoechiese.it)

Recommended readings (no open access):

• Francesco Alicino (2010) “Constitutionalism as a Peaceful ”Site” of Religious Struggles,” Global Jurist: Vol. 10: Iss. 1(Advances), Article 8, pp. 1-34
• Francesco Alicino (2015) “The road to equality. Same-sex relationships within the European context: the case of Italy”, School of Government, LUISS: Vol. 25, pp. 1-38
• Francesco Alicino (2017) “Heaven on Earth. Utopia and Religion: Interaction and Reciprocal Influences”, Polis, Vol. V, Nr. 2 (16), pp. 1-13
• Pasquale Annicchino (2019) Law and International Religious Freedom: The Rise and Decline of the American Model, Routledge
• W. Cole Durham, Silvio Ferrari, Cristiana Cianitto, Donlu Thayer (eds.). (2012). Law, Religion, Constitution. Freedom of Religion, Equal Treatment, and the Law, Ashgate.
• Rossella, Bottoni. (2021). Law and Religion in Multicultural Societies, Trento: Università di Trento.
• Silvio Ferrari, Mark Hill, Arif Jaml A; Rossella Bottoni (edited by). (2021). Routledge Handbook of Freedom Religion or Belief. New York: Routledge.

Metodi didattici

The course will be based on both lecture and group work by students. Lectures will include readings and examination of sentences, projection of materials, and short documentaries.

Group work in the classroom will consist of breaking down the text of one or more sentences/judgments. The groups of students, during dedicated lessons, will have to study the sentences whose text will be provided by the teacher.

The students will have then to expose in the classroom the result of their work that must necessarily articulate in: a) summarize the "fact", that is the event subject of the decision; b) analyze "in law" the judgment, identifying the rules underlying the decision and then c) demonstrate that they have understood the mechanism of "subsumption of the case" to the general rule and abstract; d) summarize the decision of the judge and his reasons - logical and legal excursus. Particular attention should also be paid to the evolution of jurisprudence in order to grasp the dynamic and innovative aspect of jurisprudence under the legal, historical and social profile.

The group work in the classroom is evaluated by the teacher and is an integral part (30%) of the outcome of the final exam.

The group work is evaluated by the teacher on the basis of: a) the willingness to work in a group and respect for others; b) the ability to expose using an appropriate language; c) the ability to identify the salient parts and the most relevant articles; d) the personal contribution offered by each participant in the group about the ability to develop reasoning and use with a critical spirit the concepts learned during the lessons.

Be informed that the use of generative artificial intelligence is considered a form of plagiarism.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

Attending students

Evaluation of attending students will be made during the course through written tests(short essays, project work, research reports, etc.)

The evaluation of the acquisition of the expected knowledge and skills by the attending students is based on: 1) group work in the classroom (30%); 2) research paper (70% of the final grade). Each student will have to write a short essay/paper (at least 5 pages long) on a topic discussed in class and always agreed upon in advance with the teacher. The essay must be received by the teacher at least five days before the date of the call for which students want to register.

The essay must be in a discursive form and must also include notions learned during the course. The paper will be evaluated by the Professor taking into account:

1) the student's ability to have acquired sufficient knowledge of the course content, correctly applying the concepts learned in class; 2) to be able to identify the principles of law and normative and jurisprudential references; 3) to have acquired adequate legal language; 4) to have developed an ability to reason and a critical spirit.

The final score will result from the sum of the two written tests. The Professor may award extra points (particularly "cum laudem") for proactive participation in class.

Only if the Professor considers the essay/paper insufficient, the student will have to take an oral test, the content of which must be agreed upon beforehand with the teacher.

Be informed that the use of generative artificial intelligence is considered a form of plagiarism.

Non-attending students

Non-attending students will take a written test on the program dedicated to them (see section Readings/Bibliography non-attending students).

The essay must be sent by email one week before the date of the exam in order to allow the teacher to correct and evaluate the paper.

Be informed that the use of generative artificial intelligence is considered a form of plagiarism.

The evaluation criteria are as follows:

30 and Honors: the student showed a complete mastery of the subjects covered in the course; he/she explained them consistently and using appropriate terms; he/she expressed a personal point of view on the issues studied; and he/she provided original examples.

30: The student showed a complete mastery of the subjects covered in the course, explaining them consistently and using a number of appropriate terms.

27-29: the student showed a thorough knowledge and, despite some uncertainty, was able to present these subjects in a substantially consistent and correct.

24-26: the student showed substantial knowledge although not always complete, articulating him/herself in a way that was not always clear.

21-23: The student showed a superficial knowledge of the subjects, but proved to have understood the main ideas. His/her presentation of the material was fragmented and often unsuitable.

18-21: The student showed adequate but very superficial knowledge and did not fully understand the ideas presented in the course. His/her presentation was confusing, fragmented and often unsuitable.

<18: student failed to pass the exam. He/she showed a lack of knowledge or highly insufficient understanding and was unable to navigate the topics covered by the course. His/her presentation was confusing, fragmented and unsuitable.

-> Non-attending students may arrange a different exam program with the Professor. For this purpose they are requested to contact the teacher in due time before the exam.

 

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Lectures and class discussions will be held with the support of audio-visual tools (ppt, web, short documentaries).

 

Students with a form of disability or specific learning disabilities (DSA) who are requesting academic adjustments or compensatory tools are invited to communicate their needs to the teaching staff in order to properly address them and agree on the appropriate measures with the competent bodies.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Federica Botti