Law on Religion

The present study is dedicated to Rev. Prof. Henryk Misztal, who passed away on November 28, 2020. It aims to commemorate this distinguished scholar, engaged academic, tireless educator, and – moreover – a zealous priest and a good man. Prof. Misztal spent his entire academic career at John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. For many years, he chaired the Department of Law on Religion and the Department of Canonization Law. He also carried a number of other important academic responsibilities, serving as vice¬dean (1983–1987) and
dean (1987–1989) of the Faculty of Canon Law at the Catholic University of Lublin. His research interests were in the areas of law on religion and canonization law. In both fields, he gained national and international recognition. His publications on law on religion especially highlighted the importance of religious freedom that is every person’s right, whereas as a canonization law expert, he became best known as the author of comprehensive monographs devoted to substantive and procedural law. Over the course of his research, he contributed over 500 different kinds of publications. Prof. Misztal was repeatedly awarded for his research achievements. He received the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2000) and the Medal of the Commission of National Education (2006). In 2018, he was also honoured with the doctorate renewal ceremony at his University. On the Church forum, he was granted the title of Honorary Chaplain of His Holiness (1996). Prof. Misztal’s research activity was constantly inspired by his faith and was inextricably connected with living his priesthood. Only when we are aware of that can we properly understand not only his life choices, but also the deepest sources of the authority that he enjoyed.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this convenient resource provides systematic information on how Poland deals with the role religion plays or can play in society, the legal status of religious communities and institutions, and the legal interaction among religion, culture, education, and media. After a general introduction describing the social and historical background, the book goes on to explain the legal framework in which religion is approached. Coverage proceeds from the principle of religious freedom through the rights and contractual obligations of religious communities; international, transnational, and regional law effects; and the legal parameters affecting the influence of religion in politics and public life. Also covered are legal positions on religion in such specific fields as church financing, labour and employment, and matrimonial and family law.
Reprinted from: Piotr Stanisz, Religion and Law in Poland, 2nd ed., Alphen aan den Rijn 2020, with permission of Kluwer Law International.

THE CONCEPT OF SECULARITY – HISTORICAL, LEGAL AND AXIOLOGICAL-ETYMOLOGICAL ASPECTS
S u m m a r y
Discussions about the meaning of the term secularity are of the key importance for understanding the relationship between religion and state authorities, on the one hand, and an individual's freedom of religion, on the other. What can post-secularism bring to civil society and pluralism, and what is the relationship between the universalist civic and the particular cultural (and religious) pattern within it? Does secularism mean the inevitable and hermetic separation between the state and the church, society and religion or do other legal modalities exist within that same secularity and which are they? Where is in that plurality of relations of the "post-secular" Serbian society at the moment and where should be? In addition to presenting all the differences of European modalities, the author points out that it is necessary to further insist on the nuances of the concept of secularity in our society, since, as currently perceived by the some parts of public, it is quite one-sided and incompatible with European cultural and pluralistic achievements as well as with what is written in the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and the Law on Churches and Religious Communities.