This article analyses the religious changes within Italian society. These changes are not only caused by the presence of Islamic groups. Yet, given the specificity of the Islam (especially when compared to Italy’s “traditional religions”) and its problematic interconnected issues (which implies the emergences of immigration and/or religion-inspired terrorism), Islam highlights the most striking facets of Italy’s new plural religious landscape. This implies other legal matters, like those related to the bilateralism principle, as traditionally stated in Articles 7.2 and 8.3 of the Italian Constitutions, as well as the 1929 law (no. 1159) on admitted religions (culti ammessi). Both the practice of state-church bilateral relations and the 1159/1929 law, combined with the highly discretionary powers granted to the Government in this matter, can lead to unreasonable and discriminatory distinctions between religions that benefit from bilateralism and Islamic organizations. This is even more evident in light of the fact that Islamic communities are not only are excluded from the benefits of bilateralism but also are legally recognized as nonreligious association
Dealing with Neo Religious Pluralism: Regulating Islam in Italy
Alicino
2023-01-01
Abstract
This article analyses the religious changes within Italian society. These changes are not only caused by the presence of Islamic groups. Yet, given the specificity of the Islam (especially when compared to Italy’s “traditional religions”) and its problematic interconnected issues (which implies the emergences of immigration and/or religion-inspired terrorism), Islam highlights the most striking facets of Italy’s new plural religious landscape. This implies other legal matters, like those related to the bilateralism principle, as traditionally stated in Articles 7.2 and 8.3 of the Italian Constitutions, as well as the 1929 law (no. 1159) on admitted religions (culti ammessi). Both the practice of state-church bilateral relations and the 1159/1929 law, combined with the highly discretionary powers granted to the Government in this matter, can lead to unreasonable and discriminatory distinctions between religions that benefit from bilateralism and Islamic organizations. This is even more evident in light of the fact that Islamic communities are not only are excluded from the benefits of bilateralism but also are legally recognized as nonreligious associationI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
