Diritto canonico/Diritto comparato delle religioni
Due to the specificity of the course, all the notions indispensable for its effective attendance will be provided. Curiosity towards the legal production of the cultural and religious traditions that also characterise our country is, without a doubt, a good prerequisite for fruitful participation in the course.
The course is particularly recommended as a useful supplement for students of Law and Religion and Human Rights.
Students may choose a twofold way of testing their learning: 1. A written paper, agreed upon on the topics covered by the course and based on texts provided by the lecturer; 2. A discussion on the topics covered by the course based on the text by Silvio Ferrari, Strumenti e percorsi di diritto comparato delle religioni, il Mulino, latest edition.
Students attending the course as a six-credit exam (having chosen Ecclesiastical Law as their compulsory exam) agree a reduced syllabus with the lecturer.
Non-attending students agree the examination programme with the teacher.
By focusing on religious rights, the course aims to offer students an opening to legal worlds other than those regulated by state-produced norms. Students will thus be called upon to get to know the main features of some of the most widespread religious legal systems that characterise contemporary globalisation; to confront themselves with their legal institutions and to recognise their norms with practical relevance for millions of people; to evaluate the differences between religiously- and state-based normative responses; and to elaborate and communicate the notions learnt.
In this way, the Dublin indicators divided into knowledge and understanding; 2. applying knowledge; 3. making judgements and 4. communication are realised.
In the academic year 2022-2023, the course will focus on Jewish law, Canon law, Islamic law, Hindu law and Buddhist law.
It will first address the issue of the sources of religious rights, examining their main founding texts and the specific features of religious juridicality. In a comparative perspective, some specific issues will then be addressed, such as religious affiliation (ways of entering and leaving religious groups); religious marriages; the women's question; food rules; the relationship with human rights and state production rights.
In A.Y. 22-23 the course will be held in presence. The topics will be introduced by frontal lectures framing the theme and accompanied by the analysis of texts, normative and doctrinal, in a co-working mode. The active participation of students will be encouraged.
During the course, in-depth seminars will be organised with external experts in order to allow students a qualified comparison and in-depth study of the course topics.
The lecturer receives students in the Manica Lunga room on Wednesdays from 9 to 10 a.m. and is always available at: alessandro.ferrari@uninsubria.it
A study trip to Morocco to participate in a United Nation Context will be organised for March 2023. The trip will be particularly useful not only to experience some of the working methods of the United Nations but also to compare what has been learnt in the course with the contemporary reality of a Muslim-majority country with an important history. Participation in the project will be assessed with additional credits decided by the Department Council.