1st Edition

Secularism and Freedom of Religion in Italy Religious Symbols in the Public Space

By Maria Cristina Ivaldi Copyright 2025
178 Pages
by Routledge

178 Pages
by Routledge

The display of religious symbols in the public space has been the subject of much debate. This book provides an overview of the presence of religious symbols in Italian public institutions from a legal standpoint. The situation is analysed from the perspective of the principles of laicità /secularism, as defined by the Constitutional Court, and freedom of religion. It is argued that while the... Read more

About the Author. Acknowledgements. List of abbreviations. Notes to the reader. Introduction. 1. Overview of law and religion in Italy 2. Religious symbols in public institutions. National and the European Court of Human Rights case law 3. Insights into the issue of religious symbols worn by believers 4. Additional recent cases concerning religious symbols and other “symbolic” issues in Italy. Conclusion. Bibliography. Index

Biography

Maria Cristina Ivaldi is a full professor of Law and Religion in the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, where she teaches courses on Law and Religion in Multicultural Societies, Religious Cultural Heritage and Pilgrimage and Religious Tourism.