Abstract
The perspective used to study religion and its changes in Italy is the law. The essay examines the supreme principle of secularism (laicità) as defined by the Constitutional Court since the late 1980s. In accordance with well-known judgment no. 203/1989 and subsequent case law, Italian secularism has a particular meaning and “entails non-indifference of the State for religions but guarantee of the State for the safeguard of religious freedom, in a regime of confessional and cultural pluralism.” This principle does not involve the radical observance of separation between the State and Churches and the existence of a sharp distinction between the private and the public spheres. The chapter treats the issues and controversies among those not yet resolved in the Italian order, in particular the longstanding question of the presence of religious symbols (i.e., crucifix) in public space and the unresolved issue of Muslim places of worship. The first issue concerns the presence of religious emblems in public institutions and the renowned Lautsi case that led Italy to present itself before the Court of Strasburg. The second issue involves a concrete aspect of exercising the freedom of religion constitutionally oriented in light of the principle of equality of believers of religious denominations other than Catholicism, especially Muslims. I focus on recent case law, the jus condendum and also the unsatisfactory solutions offered by the “Committee for Italian Islam” and with advisory functions at the Ministry of the Interior on February 11, 2010. I provide some provisional remarks about the transformation of the legal framework in the country that are brought about by Italy’s accession to supranational bodies such as EU and COE and the difficulty in predicting future developments related to religion.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
In this chapter, the English Presidency of the Republic website is used. Retrieved: January 18, 2013, from http://www.quirinale.it/qrnw/statico/costituzione/pdf/costituzione_inglese_01.pdf
- 4.
The Constitutional Court’s pronouncements can be read at http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/actionPronuncia.do, where the database search form is available.
- 5.
The Lateran Pacts were signed between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See on February 11, 1929, and executed with law no. 810/1929. These include, in particular, the Treaty and the Concordat.
- 6.
Regarding the uncertain clarification of this expression, see the Constitutional Court’s judgments no. 195/1993 and 346/2002. For the doctrine, see Colaianni (2000: 363).
- 7.
For this and the other Italian laws quoted, see www.normattiva.it which is the Italian legal portal.
- 8.
The Constitutional Court, subsequently, has intervened several times, evoking secularism. However, it is first and foremost about blasphemy and vilification, which have registered overriding references to secularism. For a global analysis, see Ivaldi (2004: 235).
- 9.
Constitutional bill 29 April 2009, C 241/2009. For these and the other projects of the parliamentary array listed below, refer to these websites http://www.camera.it and http://www.senato.it
- 10.
Constitutional bills S 320/2008, C 1483/2008, C 2374/2009 and C 2457/2009.
- 11.
Namely, laws no. 2004–228 and 2010–1192 can be viewed at www.legifrance.gouv.fr
- 12.
Article 5, law no. 152/1975 “Disposizioni in materia di ordine pubblico,” as modified by laws no 533/1977 and 155/2005.
- 13.
That is, articles 118, royal decree no. 965/1924 and 119, royal decree no. 1297/1928. These norms are examples, along with others, of the re-establishment of Catholicism as the State Church in the Italian fascist era that culminated with the signing of the Lateran Pacts in 1929.
- 14.
The administrative judges’ acts can be read at http://www.giustizia-amministrativa.it
- 15.
That judgment actually cannot lead to the conviction of positive behavior or, that is to say, to the removal of crucifixes from classrooms. All European Court judgments are downloadable from the search HUDOC case law at http://www.echr.coe.int
- 16.
This decision extensively annotated is also in English. For an overview of the Lautsi case, in light of the jurisprudential trend of this Court, see Ventura (2011: 293).
- 17.
That is, “Associazione Musulmani Italiani,” “Unione delle Comunità ed Organizzazioni Islamiche in Italia” and “Comunità Islamica in Italia.”
- 18.
For example, see the agreements with the Waldesians, Pentecostals, Adventists et al. For further details, please refer to the Italian government website’s section, dedicated to religious denominations http://www.governo.it/presidenza/usri/confessioni/intese_indice.html#2
- 19.
Unlike two non-Christian denominations or those traditionally present in the Country (as was instead for Judaism whose accord goes up again to 1987), or Buddhism and Hinduism which saw their agreement concluded in 2007 and implemented in law before the end of the 16th Legislature.
- 20.
For close examination, see Tozzi et al. (2010).
- 21.
Under the cited reform of Title V, legislative powers in land use planning are allocated concurrently to the State and the Regions. Conversely, to the residual exclusive jurisdiction of Regions lies in the building matter. In any case, these prerogatives must be exercised “in compliance with the Constitution and with the constraints deriving from EU legislation and international obligations” (article 117, Const.).
- 22.
Administrative functions, at first, expressly conferred pursuant to article 118 Const., to municipalities and based on the principles of subsidiarity, differentiation and adequacy.
- 23.
It is a profile that falls outside this discussion, as well as those issues concerning the possible qualification of a place of worship as a cultural asset in compliance with the requirements.
- 24.
For doctrinal insights, see Persano (2008).
- 25.
Council of State, Fourth Section and decision no. 4915/2010, more explicitly, had previously described the facts alleged as exclusively urban, not detecting “any profile relating to the freedom of worship, which may find other more suitable opportunities for expression.”
- 26.
For the texts, see the websites http://www.camera.it and http://www.senato.it
- 27.
Opinion retrieved: January 19, 2011, from http://www1.interno.it/mininterno/export/sites/default/it/assets/files/20/0457_Luoghi_di_culto_islamici_-_Parere_del_Comitato_per_lxIslam_Italiano.pdf.
- 28.
Each EU document can be viewed at http://eur-lex.europa.eu
- 29.
For the EU point of view, see the activities of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA) http://ec.europa.eu/bepa
- 30.
For example, see Council Directive 2000/78/EC, especially para. 23.
- 31.
Decisions by EU justice bodies before 17 June 1997 can be viewed on the European legal website mentioned above while those made after that date are available on http://www.curia.europa.eu
- 32.
The complaint originated from the denial of asylum and protection are governed by Directive 2004/83/EC was opposed by German authorities for two Pakistani citizens, despite the risk of persecution to which they were subject, in their home Country because of their membership in the Ahmadiyya movement for the reform of Islam.
- 33.
This expression was used, for the first time by the American doctrine (Slaughter 2000: 1103).
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Ivaldi, M.C. (2015). Law and Religion: The Peculiarities of the Italian Model—Emerging Issues and Controversies. In: Brunn, S. (eds) The Changing World Religion Map. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9376-6_68
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