CONSTITUTIONAL REGULATION OF THE STATUS OF RELIGIOUS MINISTERS

Abstract

Introduction: religious ministers are a special category of persons, often having a special status regulated not only by internal norms of religious organizations (e.g. those provided in sacred texts) but also by legal rules of the state. Purpose: to analyze the provisions of the constitutions of the UN member states and a number of basic laws of the constituent entities of federal states, to identify the features of the constitutional regulation of the status of religious ministers, the reasons for etatization and ‘constitutional silence’. Methods: the research mainly relies on the comparative legal method, used when analyzing the constitutions and laws of 193 countries (cross-study); the systematization method was employed to develop the author's classification of the identified norms into groups. Results: the analysis showed a terminological diversity in the texts of the constitutions; when studying the issue in question, it is advisable to use the term ‘religious minister’ as it allows covering this category of persons to the greatest extent possible. The author has identified six groups of norms reflecting the status of religious ministers: the norms governing participation in the management of state affairs; norms blurring the boundaries between secular and religious regulation; norms establishing privileges for clerics; norms ensuring the autonomy of religious associations; norms that regulate the exercise of freedom of religion through spiritual mentors; norms limiting the civil legal capacity of religious ministers and determining the legal force of religious rites and sacraments. The paper explains why some ‘standard norms’ have been established, including those forbidding religious ministers from participation in the management of state affairs. Conclusion: the author reveals the reasons behind the ‘constitutional silence’ and etatization of the norms on religious ministers in the constitutions, and also offers the ways to differentiate the status of clerics in the structure of constitutions.