Aspects regarding the lack of correlation of certain religious rules and practices with the legal dispositions adopted by the state

• Author: Elena Paraschiv
• Position: Lecturer Ph.D. 'Spiru Haret' University, Faculty of Law and Public Administration, Râmnicu Vâlcea
• Pages: 9-12

ASPECTS REGARDING THE LACK OF CORRELATION OF CERTAIN RELI GIOUS RULES AND

PRACTICES WITH THE LEGAL DISPOSITIONS ADOPTED BY THE STATE

Paraschiv Elena*

Abstract

As a rule, religious pra ctices do not normally violate the social order ; however, th ere ar e cases when

legal state regulatio ns are br eached, r esulting in har mful consequences, especia lly in the framework of certa in

cults, which insidiously ur ge their adepts to adopt an ana rchical behavior, most of the time pursuing the

accomplishment of their illicit material inter ests.

Key words: religious movements, laws, social order.

Introduction

Social life is generally governed by laws adopted by the state auth orities, however when mentioning the

reglementation for the internal or der of certain groups formed inside a state or inter national community- which

may comprise a political, economical, social, religious, scientifical, sports cultural, etc n ature- their r ight to

create unique and individual norms

1 stipulated in statutes, regulations, colective contr acts, ca nons is

recognized.They form the so-called a utonomous right, which is subordina ted2 to the right of the origin of state by

means of which the manner of establishment, organisa tion and functioning of the group formations mentioned3 is

regulated .

Brief considerations regarding the canonic right

Since ancient times, the need to establish certain rules of conduct in any human c ommunity proved to be a

necessity without which the cohabitation of its members would have been rendered impossible. This determined

the imposition of certain nor ms of conduct which, together with the e volution of society and formation of states,

constituted the premise for the appearance of modern law systems.

All which makes reference to laws and rights and is ge nerally related to peo ple’s relationships in society,

is also valid when considering the life of believers in a church, in quality of members of that church, as neither

churches nor a church life may evade state regulations, the later being present and taking action in the life of a

church, as well as in other forms of o rganized church life in general.Thus, any individual, in his quality o f

member or citizen of a state as well as in his qualit y of member or servent of an y kind of religious grouping,

must live in conformity with t he regulations imposed on the life and activity of all humans4 by the legal

provisions.

Throughout history, the church has granted an important significance to the juridical element in various

ways, making use of a variety of acceptions, sometimes assigning it an e xaggerated role by including it amo ng

the revelating elements that uphold the divine nature a nd sometimes understating it or even declar ing it

irreconcilable with the nature of church.5 Thus, t he juridical factor, operating in the life of the church was

named: divine la w, eterna l law, divine right, natur al la w, natural right or simply, law, in the sense of “Old

Law”, or “New Law”, namely belonging to the Old or New Testament. It was also reffered to as: commandment,

ordinance, canon, ecclesia stical law, settlement, teaching, etc.

These denominations have different meanings, emphasizing certain asp ects which may be strongly

connected or just evasively pointing out at the term law.

The notion of “divine law” was used by the Hebrew or other o riental nations, as well as by the Romans

and Greeks under the name of “J us sacrum” or “J us divinum”, as it was only natural that the church founded in

the Je wish and Greco-Roman culture area which in many aspects was a continuity of the Mosaic religion, to

assimilate tale qua le the notion of divine right.

In ecclesiastical ordinances, the term “right”, independent of the way it was mentioned, generally

embodies and continues to have a content which surpasses the juridical sphere, as it continously prevails

religious and ethical elements.

The meaning of the term ca nonic r ight is in fact the Christian religious right that embodies all the

principles and legal provisions after which the entire Christian church is b eing organized and governed, na mely

all Christian confessions.

* Lecturer Ph.D. “Spiru Haret” University, Faculty of Law and Public Administration, Râmnicu Vâlcea, bnp_elenaparaschiv@hotmail.com.

1 Ion Dogaru, Dan Claudiu Dnişor, Teoria general a dreptului, Scientific Publishing House, Bucharest, 1999, p. 200.

2 Norms that govern the internal order of public or private groups are subsidiary to legal state norms in the sense that the former must not

contradict the laws in force.

3 Sofia Popescu, Teoria general a dreptului, Lumina Lex Publishing House, Bucharest, 2000, pp. 162-163.

4 Nicolae-Ioan Floca, Drept canonic ortodox, legislaie şi administraie bisericeasc, vol I, Biblical and Missional Institute of the Romanian

Orthodox Church Publishing House, Bucharest, 1922, p. 28.

5 Ion Matei, Contribuiuni la istoria dreptului bisericesc, Bucharest, 1922.