COOPERATORES VERITATIS
RELIGION AND PUBLIC SPACE
Vatican
City, 18 December 2012 (VIS) - The Department of Science of
Education at the "Roma 3" University has organised an international
seminar, concluding today, on the theme "Religion and public space".
The conference examines the
following issues: the redefinition of public space in relation to the new
presence of the religious; the debate surrounding the acceptance or refusal of
religious symbols in public places; the ways in which the various religious
presences engage with politics, culture and with the presence of symbols in
public places; the concept of current religious pluralism in two nations in
which Catholicism has, until recent times, occupied a position of 'monopoly' or
near-monopoly and/or within protected 'religious markets'; the relationships
between political and religious leaders.
Philosopher Massimo Introvigne
The philosopher Massimo
Introvigne, co-ordinator of the Observatory on Religious Freedom of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, opened yesterday's symposium with a presentation
entitled "Religious freedom and relations between States and religions:
different models in conflict?". This was followed by a round table
discussion on "The case of Italy", "Church and State in Italy
and Brazil: problems and moments", "Religious freedom, public space
and judicial systems: redefinitions and new scenarios", "Secularity
in pluralistic Italy", "Secularism as an ideology", and
"Lay aggregations between secularisation and desecularisation".
The first day concluded with a
debate on "Religion and politics in Italy".
This morning discussions
focused on "The case in Brazil", in particular "Catholic
Charismatic Renewal and evangelical Pentecostalism in Brazil: doctrinal
divergence and political convergence", "Human rights in the Catholic Church
in Brazil: from political to moral discourse", and "Religious symbols
in public spaces: different configurations of Catholicism". At 10.30 a.m.
the sociologist Franco Garelli gave a presentation on "Religion and public
space", then at 11.30 there was a round table discussion on "Religion
and politics in Latin America". The latter focused on the themes of
"Marian sanctuaries as public space: Catholicism and nation in
Argentina", "Argentina: the complicity of silence", "Revolutionary
pastoral: some considerations regarding guerilla priests in Latin
America", "The relationship between Church and State in Argentina
during the last military government (1976-1983)" and "The Church of
liberation and new popular governments".
The afternoon session will
consist of a presentation by Enzo Pace at 3 p.m. entitled "Achilles and
the tortoise: Italian Catholicism facing unprecedented religious
diversity"; the seminar will then conclude with a debate on "Religion
and public space".
Source:
V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service. www.vis.va
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