Institutionalizing the Relationship between Religious Teaching and Religious Freedom: The Case of the Republic of San Marino
Abstract
:1. Introduction: Teaching about Religions and Beliefs in a Multicultural Context
This paper focuses on the public policies provided for alternative solutions for those who choose not to avail themselves of a denominational lesson on religion, as occurs in some countries, such as Italy. As concerns the Teaching of the Catholic religion in Italy, the issue is quite complex (Silhol 2021; Porcarelli 2022) and different theories are dealt with (Giorda 2009; Giorda and Saggioro 2011). The solution arrived at is not easy to manage, as it provides—for those who do not avail themselves of the lesson on religion—for four different types of proposals, some of which have educational value1, others (such as the possibility of leaving school) absolutely not. While there are studies providing a comparative analysis of the situation in other countries (Fancourt 2022) and others offering a comprehensive panorama of the situation in Europe (Genre and Pajer 2005; Pajer 2017), it was found relevant to study the specific case of the Republic of San Marino.Where a compulsory program involving teaching about religions and beliefs is not sufficiently objective, efforts should be made to revise it to make it more balanced and impartial, but where this is not possible, or cannot be accomplished immediately, recognizing opt-out rights may be a satisfactory solution for parents and pupils, provided that the opt-out arrangements are structured in a sensitive and non-discriminatory way
2. The Choice of Establishing an Alternative to the Teaching of the Catholic Religion in the Republic of San Marino
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- The in-depth study of the fundamental values of the human experience and civil coexistence, by means of comparison and intercultural dialogue;
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- The construction of the meaning of legality and the development of an ethic of responsibility;
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- The maturation of the awareness that human beings have not only rights recognised by national and international documents, but also corresponding duties to be fulfilled. (Art. 2, para. 2 of said Law).
3. Pedagogical Identity of the Discipline Concerning “Ethics, Culture and Society”
The cultural background referred to is that of ethical and cultural pluralism, which, pedagogically speaking, is placed on the horizon of intercultural education (Keast 2007; Guetta 2016; Moscato 2020), in which the Ragioni formative for this lesson acquire meaning. They outline a space of articulated, complex thought, which takes into account some applications linked to the horizons of meaning of the individual path of each student, as well as far-reaching social and cultural issues. The first of these Ragioni formative identifies a path towards wellbeing and self-awareness, in order to outline a scenario inspired by both the famous Socratic imperative (know yourself) and the intuition of Aristotle, so the ethical issues are “related to the natural desire of every human being to achieve happiness” (Consiglio Grande e Generale 2019, p. 2). The natural development of this first area is the one indicated in the expression, The time for choices, in which the necessity to develop criteria and strategies for making conscious choices (in an age-appropriate manner) is emphasised considering universally recognised human values. The core of the Ragioni formative for the discipline is set forth by the paragraph indicating the mental environment, in which the lesson (Being responsible for oneself and others) is being taught and its broad disciplinary structure is formed (see the Ragioni formative).The discipline of “Ethics, culture and society” has arisen from the choice made by the Republic of San Marino to provide knowledge about ethical topics, also to students who do not avail themselves of the Teaching of the Catholic Religion. Therefore, the new discipline has been developed on plans of a universal nature that leave aside denominational-type choices and also take into account some international orientations in this direction. Coexisting in the culture, in which we live, are diverse ethical views and frameworks of values that can be quite different. Precisely for this reason, it is important to scrutinise, with the students, the relationship between ethics, culture and society, in order to provide them, gradually and age-based, with those individual and social competencies, which allow them to progressively develop a critical way of thinking about such delicate topics and adopt consequent behaviours
If it is true that the ethical dimension (Responsibility towards oneself) represents the beating heart of this discipline, it is likewise true that the other two terms completing the title are not purely ornamental, but rather emphasise how the ethical dimension does not concern solely the individual sphere, but also encompasses the interpersonal and social dimension. This is why one speaks of responsibility towards others, as well as responsibility towards the world, referring not only to the environmental issue, but also to responsibility of a theoretical and culture nature. To know how to live in the here and now, typified by a many-faceted complexity, which Bauman (2000) identified through the image of liquid modernity, “it is essential that children and young people gradually acquire a method for understanding the reality and development of the context, in which they live, so as to identity some of its cultural trends, defend themselves against stereotypes and prejudices, and cautiously navigate around the world of online information and social platforms” (Consiglio Grande e Generale 2019, p. 3).Ethical topics are often linked to the idea of responsibility in the etymological sense of knowing how “to account for” one’s choices towards oneself and others, who, in turn, may have justifiable expectations towards us and be held accountable for what they do. Responsibility towards oneself is tied to the awareness of one’s actions and decisions and their consequences, as related, also, to the steady creation of one’s self-image and life plan. Responsibility towards others is tied to both the commitments that each person may assume being accountable for and, consequently, honour them, and the awareness that individual actions have consequences on the lives of everyone
The biographical trajectories that secondary school students go through in search of their adult identity may differ considerably. Some young people grow in linear continuity, with horizons of meaning, in which they were raised within their families and cultures, while others clearly separate themselves from it and attempt to explore other paths and horizons. The attitude of the teachers towards these biographic trajectories is always to be embodied by a vast openness to dialogue. The lesson on “Ethics, culture and society” may offer useful cultural tools for developing these biographical trajectories; this is paradigmatically expressed by one of the Competency Goals foreseen in secondary schools, so that a young person “deals with the education they receive and progressively reshapes their horizons of meaning, until a conscious framework of reference values is identified, by means of which they can direct their choices. The young person identifies the key points of the decision-making processes and gets accustomed to making their own decisions, consciously and responsibly, keeping a critical mind and autonomy of judgement” (Consiglio Grande e Generale 2019, p. 10). In this kind of school, one can still find full development and the educational potential of the third area of competences provided by this lesson (Responsibility towards the world), hereby facing the great demands concerning the globalised world, intercultural perspective, interreligious dialogue and the complex dynamisms of the working world, until one arrives at the specificity of knowledge societies.In secondary school, young people are eagerly open to increasingly broader horizons; they delve independently into relationships outside the family circle and begin to explore various contexts of life and socialisation. Adolescence is also the age in which each person sets out new horizons of meaning, sometimes challenging reference points acquired in the household or in educational environments experienced during childhood. Young people also experience friendships and emotional relationships that can be quite intense, and during which they put themselves at stake and mature significant aspects of their own identities, in addition to weighing up important choices concerning the authenticity, with which they relate to allegiance to themselves and others, and loyalty and correctness in attitudes and behaviours. All these are very significant variables from an ethical point of view and on which it might be timely to dwell in educational terms
4. Conclusions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
1 | There are four possible options in Italy for those who do not avail themselves of IRC: (1) alternative lessons approved by the individual schools, (2) individual study with the aid of teachers, (3) individual, non-aided study, (4) leaving the school (Cicatelli 2015; Porcarelli 2022). |
2 | |
3 | The one currently in forces is the “Accord between the Secretary of State for Education and the Diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro pertaining to the Teaching of the Catholic Religion in schools in the Republic of San Marino”, signed on 27 March 2019. |
4 | The Consiglio Grande e Generale is a representative body made up of 60 members elected by direct universal suffrage, whose responsibilities—in the Republic of San Marino—include legislative powers, determination of the political direction and the exercise of supervisory functions. As the Consiglio Grande e Generale is the official name of the body, it is left in Italian in the text. In English, the name translates into Great and General Council. |
5 | The expression “istanza d’arengo”, in the legal structure of the Republic of San Marino, is intended to mean the presentation, by citizens, of “petitions on topics of public interest”; such a petition can be freely presented by any citizen, at six-month intervals (the first Sunday after 1 October and the first Sunday after 1 April). The term Arengo refers to the name of the first form of government of the Republic of San Marino, a public body that developed in about the year 1000, which originally indicated the meeting of all heads of family. Having steadily evolved over the course of the centuries, its role is now absorbed into the functions of the Consiglio Grande e Generale, while the name has remained to indicate the petitions (or requests) of public interest, which citizens present directly to the Council. |
6 | This document expresses a political orientation, aimed at initiating the path that will lead to the establishment of an alternative teaching to that of the Catholic Religion. |
7 | In the Republic of San Marino, the Consiglio di Dipartimento Istruzione, i.e., Education Department, carries out the functions of what is commonly known as the Ministry of Education. |
8 | The document cited is: Consiglio Grande e Generale (2019); the page numbers indicated in the citations refer to the document in .pdf format attached to the Decree in question. |
9 | Teaching of the Catholic Religion as a specific discipline is not foreseen in pre-schools, hence, neither is the alternative teaching, “Ethics, culture and society”. |
10 | Law no. 40 of 29 October 1975. |
11 | Diana Eck is the creator of the Pluralism Project. For more information see the website: www.pluralism.org (accessed on 14 May 2023). |
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Porcarelli, A. Institutionalizing the Relationship between Religious Teaching and Religious Freedom: The Case of the Republic of San Marino. Religions 2023, 14, 685. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060685
Porcarelli A. Institutionalizing the Relationship between Religious Teaching and Religious Freedom: The Case of the Republic of San Marino. Religions. 2023; 14(6):685. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060685
Chicago/Turabian StylePorcarelli, Andrea. 2023. "Institutionalizing the Relationship between Religious Teaching and Religious Freedom: The Case of the Republic of San Marino" Religions 14, no. 6: 685. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060685
APA StylePorcarelli, A. (2023). Institutionalizing the Relationship between Religious Teaching and Religious Freedom: The Case of the Republic of San Marino. Religions, 14(6), 685. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060685