Church and state relations in the Constitution of Malta

Abstract

The Constitution of Malta (hereinafter ‘the Constitution’), the highest law of the land, regulates the relationship between the Catholic Church and the State of Malta. This is because there are a number of provisions in the Constitution which refer to the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church and to religion as discussed below. First, there is the provision which includes the Catholic religion amongst the state’s symbols. Then there is the provision which regulates the teaching of religion in state schools. Finally, there are provisions in the Constitution which deal with freedom of conscience and worship. It is understandable that the Constitution contains such provisions on the Church and on religion because Malta is a Catholic country. However, this paper recounts, from a historic and legal perspective, that recent secularisation trends are eroding the special status that the Church and the Catholic religion have enjoyed in Maltese society and, the more time passes, it appears that Malta is moving in the footsteps of Western Europe of losing its religious character to substitute it with a more secular outlook. This is evident from the legislation surveyed in this paper which tends to inspire itself less for the making of legislation from the Catholic values perspective previously cherished by the Maltese.