Suchergebnisse

In many ways this journal issue presents some remnant fruits of a conference entitled Engaging the Contemporary 2019: The Philosophical Turn Towards Religion, and convened by the Department of Philosophy, at the University of Malta, on the 7–8 November 2019. The conference featured almost seventy papers on topics which ranged very widely from metaphysics to epistemology, from ethics to politics, and from phenomenology to analytic philosophy. Indeed, the conference was a living witness to the immense fecundity of the philosophy of religion. ; peer-reviewed

Migration has become a hot-button issue. Mention immigration and one gets particularly strong reactions; the term "immigrant" has become synonymous with a situation deemed especially problematic. Nevertheless, migration has always existed and there are - even today - many different kinds of migrants. For instance, it is clear that asylum has been granted to persons fleeing persecution since time immemorial; we can already find references in texts written 3,500 years ago by the Hittites, the Babylonians, the Assyrians and the ancient Egyptians. This notwithstanding, it appears that, nowadays, "migration" has become synonymous with political, legal, and moral complexity. Indeed, there are moves to replace "migrant" with "refugee." The move is commendable in terms of its being an attempt to clarify our language, but is deeply problematic in that dropping the term covers up for the fact that the human rights of so many are indeed forgotten or hidden behind a façade of legal constructs. ; peer-reviewed

It is possible to assume that the particular history, politics and social milieu of Malta is making it possible to experience a shift from the non-secular type of community to a post-secular one with relatively very few signs of secularism. This seemingly strange phenomenon is particularly due to (i) a very strong Catholic Church, (ii) political and economic factors, and (iii) the ever-increasing interactions with western society. The paper analyses historical, political and sociological documents in order to investigate the Maltese experience of the non-secular and its persistence. It is argued that while, through the 1970's and 1980's, there was a systematic political endeavour to secularise society, the macro-economic situation and politico-religious conflict served to favour the strengthening of a communitarian experience and to counteract the process of secularisation. Ironically, it was the new economic policies of the conservative party –seen as being close to the Church – which served to bring about the introduction of individualism and a movement towards secularization. Recent sociological studies point to a shift in the way Maltese relate to, experience and conceptualise religion. It is argued that, while contemporary Maltese society is very much influenced by global trends, it is also very much up to the local Catholic Church whether Malta will move towards a secular or post-secular scenario. This paper will hopefully throw more light on the dynamics that play in the construction of meaning, and relationships between religion and society, and between the individual and the state. ; peer-reviewed