Religion, Law and Covid-19 Emergency
Why this site?
The health emergency caused by the contagious virus SARS-CoV-2 is having many consequences also on religious rules – more broadly for the difficulties raising from the possible contradiction between the respect for the measures taken by civil authorities and religious rules. International law allows for the limitation˝ of the right to religious freedom on the grounds of protection of public health, and we are witnessing a situation of unprecedented restrictions on the global scale. As scholars engaged in the study of the legal regulation of the religious phenomenon, we have wanted to create a space to collect documents, comments and other useful materials related to the emergency, in order to assess the outcomes of the normative choices made by civil and religious authorities.
L’emergenza sanitaria prodotta dal contagioso virus SARS-CoV-2 sta producendo molte conseguenze anche sulle regole religiose, e più in generale sulle difficoltà che nascono in forza della potenziale contraddizione che può determinarsi fra il rispetto delle regole imposte dalle autorità civili e le regole religiose. Le norme internazionali ammettono che la libertà religiosa possa essere ristretta dalla legge per motivi di sanità pubblica, e stiamo assistendo ad un esercizio di restrizione su scala mondiale mai registrato in precedenza. Nella qualità di accademici impegnati nello studio della disciplina giuridica del fenomeno religioso, abbiamo pensato di creare uno spazio di raccolta di documenti, commenti, e altro materiale utile intanto ad affrontare l’emergenza, e in prospettiva a studiare gli esiti delle scelte normative che le istituzioni civili e quelle religiose stanno compiendo.
Position Papers
Per continuare a celebrare in sicurezza: riordinare l’emergenza
Nella nostra veste di professori e ricercatori di diritto e religione nelle università statali, costituiti nel gruppo di ricerca “DiReSom” – che nel corso di questa pandemia ha attivato il primo portale web internazionale su diritto, religione e coronavirus (www.diresom.net) – sottoponiamo al Governo italiano e alle istituzioni confessionali un secondo contributo alla riflessione circa la possibilità di consentire le celebrazioni dei culti religiosi, nel rispetto delle misura necessarie per prevenire il contagio del virus Sars-Cov-2, causa della malattia Covid-19. Il Dpcm 13 ottobre 2020 ha aggiornato le misure di contenimento del contagio attraverso la posizione sia di regole in senso stretto, sia di alcune raccomandazioni, volte nel loro complesso a prevenire la sospensione di alcuni diritti fondamentali, che ha purtroppo caratterizzato i provvedimenti delle c.d. «Fase 1» e «Fase 2».
EBOOK
LAW, RELIGION AND THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC – Ebook, DiReSoM Papers 2
As scholars engaged in the study of the legal regulation of the religious phenomenon, we decided to create a web space (www.diresom.net) to collect documents, comments and other useful materials related to the Covid-19 emergency, in order to assess the outcomes of the normative decisions made by state and religious authorities. By the end of April, …
Law, Religion and Covid-19 Emergency – Ebook, DiReSoM Papers 1
As scholars engaged in the study of the legal regulation of the religious phenomenon, we decided to create a web space to collect documents, comments and other useful materials related to the Covid-19 emergency, in order to assess the outcomes of the normative decisions made by state and religious authorities. So, on March 8th we …
Recent Comments
The “Spirit of Assisi” as a tool to face coronavirus emergency
by Luigi Mariano Guzzo
One of the most iconic photos of interreligious dialogue in the time of Covid-19 was published by CNN on March 26, 2020 “Muslim and Jewish paramedics pause to pray together”. Jewish paramedic Avraham Mintz prays facing Jerusalem while Muslim paramedic Zoher Abu Jama prays facing Mecca, each as an individual but together in the same kind of action. In my opinion, this photo represents how religious differences can be overcome and transformed into a possible helpful tool to manage contemporary and global crisis, such this pandemic is. Coronavirus Emergency has indiscriminately crossed national borders, regardless of a people’s religion or culture: but it has also inspired moments of interfaith unity, connecting believers (and non-believers) in the same battle. In this respect, interreligious dialogue seems actually to be a tool to face the Coronavirus Emergency, so much that even Wikipedia has made a page about it, which is constantly being updated.
The Dialogue among States and Religious Groups
by Maria Luisa Lo Giacco
The article is focused on a research in which the DiReSom research group[1] is involved since the beginning of the Covid-19 emergency. The title of the paper is: “The dialogue among states and religious groups” and I’ll examine this topic in three steps; then, I’ll try to imagine how the dialogue could be the method for the future relationships, when states and religions will probably afford other situations of emergency.
Covid-19 between the Chinese patriotic church and the under-ground church in the diocese of Shanghai (China)
by Angela Patrizia Tavani
In this frenetic succession of regulatory provisions in Italy, it seems that in a single stroke Covid 19 has deeply compressed religious freedom, reducing it almost to an abstraction, when the Catholic Church (as well as other religious confessions) and citizens- Catholic faithful have had to observe the provisions of the Italian State, with evident sacrifice of their fundamental rights of religious freedom and freedom of worship, for the benefit of the protection of the right to health and life, a priority in the acute phase of the pandemic.
The communities of ultra-Orthodox Jews in the ‘storm’ of Covid-19
by Enrica Martinelli
During the first lockdown imposed, in March, by the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic, resistances, or even actual oppositions, were observed in Israel – and in the United States of America – by numerous communities of ultra-Orthodox Jews, who refused to obey government regulations and to follow the instructions of the health authorities.
Dialogue and cooperation between French institutions and religious groups
by Maria Cristina Ivaldi
Preliminary remarks about French secularism
The Law of 9 December 1905[1] established the State separation from the churches, excluding state funding of faith-based organizations. This system of secularism since the 1946 Constitution has assumed the specific form of French laïcité[2]. It is a system which appears to be characterized on the one hand by the affirmation of the principle of strict neutrality of public institutions and on the other hand by the recognition of the religious freedom of individuals which, over time, has been posed limits, especially in terms of external manifestations[3]. Furthermore, there are no special relationships between the State and the different religious institutions.
Webinars
BREAKING NEWS
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at in the Era of COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been episodes of intolerance towards the
Ahmadiyya community, particularly in Pakistan. However, in compliance with the Quranic precepts, the
Ahmadis have not responded with violence to the persecutions suffered. On the contrary, they have
carried out, thanks to the dynamism of their communities, numerous initiatives of solidarity with the
populations most affected by the pandemic. They have also spontaneously adopted COVID-19-safe
methods of worship, and thus have been able to limit the numbers of community members infected.
SEMINARIO INTERNACIONAL – “Covid-19 y libertad religiosa”
Viernes 13 noviembre 2020, 11:00 am Online. Acceder mediante el siguiente enlace: https://meet.google.com/adu-fuim-ccs
UK – The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020
New rules about marriages and funerals in UK The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred bysections 45C(1), (3)(c), (4)(b), (4)(d), 45F(2) and 45P of the Public Health (Control of Disease)Act 1984(a).These Regulations are made in response to the serious and imminent threat to public health whichis posed by …
Reconciling the Protection of Public Health with Religious Freedom: the Viability of Shared Responses
The Coronavirus pandemic has generated an unprecedented health emergency, that has severely affected our daily lives. Government “alarmed”[1] responses, aimed at limiting the devastating impact of the health crisis “have led to a resurgence of authoritarianism, particularly in Western democracies,”[2] resulting in unimaginable restrictions of fundamental rights and liberties. In this framework, the pandemic has had serious implications on religious freedom, as measures restricting gatherings have deeply affected faith communities’ practices and rituals.
Undoubtedly, in a first phase, the pressing need to safeguard the compelling interests of public health and safety prevailed. However, the pandemic has also emphasized the crucial interplay between competing rights and the courts have often had the difficult task of reaching a reasonable balance between the conflicting claims of individual liberty and preservation of healt.
In the U.S. context, state restrictions on religious freedom claims have been fiercely litigated during the lockdown, resulting in complex dynamics between state governors, federal courts and the US Department of Justice.
Webinar “Law Religion and Coronavirus: a six month assessment”. Watch Full Conference
The purpose of this virtual conference was to provide an opportunity for thoughtful reflection on the implications for law and religion in the United States of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the economic and racial justice crises, from our current perspectives approximately six months into the crisis. This virtual conference was held October 2nd, …
Recent Documents
- SEMINARIO INTERNACIONAL – “Covid-19 y libertad religiosa”
- UK – The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020
- Webinar “Law Religion and Coronavirus: a six month assessment”. Watch Full Conference
- Webinar – “Law, Religion, and Coronavirus in the United States: A Six-Month Assessment”
- Laws – Special Issue “The Crisis of Religious Freedom in the Age of COVID-19 Pandemic”
- Greetings to Russia’s Jews on Rosh Hashanah
- BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE OF SCOTLAND – PASTORAL LETTER 5TH JUNE 2020
- Bishops’ Conference of Scotland – Working Group on COVID-19 – Guidance for churches
- ENGLAND COVID-19 – Advice on Individual Prayer by Members of the public in Church Buildings
- Reopening of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina
- State Bar Group Calls for ‘Mandatory’ COVID-19 Vaccinations, Regardless of Objections
- JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES AND ITALIAN MINISTRY OF INTERIOR: COVID-19 PROTOCOL FOR THE CHRISTIAN CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
- Décret n° 2020-618 du 22 mai 2020 complétant le décret n° 2020-548 du 11 mai 2020 prescrivant les mesures générales nécessaires pour faire face à l’épidémie de covid-19 dans le cadre de l’état d’urgence sanitaire
- France – Décret du 22 mai : reprise des messes et lignes directrices
- Press release on the resumption of religious ceremonies
- UK – New taskforce developing plan to reopen places of worship
- Quadro sinottico relativo ai Protocolli per la ripresa delle celebrazioni delle confessioni diverse dalla cattolica
- Protocolli per le celebrazioni delle confessioni religiose diverse dalla cattolica
Don’t follow this example: an Italian bishop celebrates Holy Thursday Mass without respecting measures of hygiene and of security
