General information

• Study points: 4.00
• Language: English
• Category: Lectures
• Duration: 26.0 hours 
• Periodicity: Taught in the first semester
• POC: POC Kerkelijk recht

Taught by

Torfs Henri

Aims

Content:
Insight in the legal position of religion, religious groups and movements in society within an European and multi-religious perspective. Relation between church and state, church financing, relationship civil and ecclesiastical legal order. The legal context of several controversial elements of the moment.
Skills:
To explore a concrete issue about religion and society. Be able to sketch the legal context and develop a grounded person meaning about it.

Content

The line of approach does not consist of the internal law of the Churches, but one starts from the idea of the inverted perspective, namely how law handles matters belonging to the religious sphere. This means that one must start from a thorough analysis of freedom or religion. What is the exact meaning? Where are the boundaries situated? Are the regional differences of emphasis and are the permitted? Next comes, after the fundamentals of freedom of religion, the superstructure, particularly the relations between law and religion, Belgium, its constitution and its entire conventions are handled in a fourth phase, thereafter the spectrum broadens to Europe, after which a comparison is made with the United States.
Of course a lot of attention is given to controversial issues, including the legal position of the Islam, the new religious movements, the security, the interreligious dialogue, Europe, the funding of religion.
By means of concrete issues future legal structures with respect to the relation between law and religion are thought about.

Course Material

A reader will be available at the secretariat of the Faculty of Canon Law from 18th October 2010.

Evaluation description

Examination type:
    oral with written preparation
When?: final examination during examination period
Evaluation type:
    Closed book

Explanation

The exam for this course comprises of two questions. 1) closed book question on the reader and content of the courses. 2) Students can prepare a short (3') presentation on a specific topic. Prof. Torfs will give more details about the exam during the classes. Information about the exam will be published on Toledo: community 'Faculty of canon Law: Notice Board'. Please contact Eric De Wilde if you do not have access to this community.