Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Religion for the Political Rights of Immigrants and Refugees? An Empirical Exploration Among Italian Students

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Political and Judicial Rights through the Prism of Religious Belief

Part of the book series: Religion and Human Rights ((REHU,volume 3))

Abstract

This contribution deals with the support, or lack of support, for political rights of immigrants and refugees among Italian students. Confronted with relatively big groups of migrants and refugees in the Southern part of the country, Italian youth is a highly relevant population to ask the following question: Are political rights the property of all people residing in a country, or can they only be claimed by its citizens? This question is not merely an academic one; it touches the lives of thousands of migrants arriving on the Italian shores every month while risking their lives. This burning issue engages intensely political voices and actors in civil society. One among the latter, the Catholic Church, has become more vocal in recent years in advocating an extension of the rights of immigrants and refugees, sometimes even creating a public clash between bishops’ statements and the voices of those politicians who express populist and xenophobic ideas. This contribution concerns the role of the Catholic Church in Italy’s debate about the political rights of foreigners; not only at the level of public statements and official teachings of the Catholic hierarchy but also at the level of Italian students’ opinions on these matters.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    According to the UN agency for refugees UNHCR (www.unhcr.org), 119,300 immigrants arrived on the Italian coasts in 2017, and 181,436 in 2016.

  2. 2.

    This information is taken from the Frontex website: http://frontex.europa.eu/operations/types-of-operations/air/

  3. 3.

    For instance, in summer 2015, a clash was provoked by some statements of the leadership of the Italian Bishops’ Conference with the head of the right-wing party Lega Nord; a controversy that was given great prominence in the national media.

  4. 4.

    In the context of our research, “Churchgoers” are those who claim to go to church at least once a month; “non-churchgoers” are those who claim to attend church a few times a year, hardly ever or never.

  5. 5.

    Only in the case of authoritarianism measurement principal component analysis was done.

  6. 6.

    For the religious identity variable only, “eta” coefficients were calculated.

  7. 7.

    Biblical quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). All (English translations of) documents of the Second Vatican Council, Apostolic exhortations, Encyclicals, Papal messages and documents of Pontifical Councils have been taken from the Vatican website: www.vatican.va

Abbreviations

CV :

Caritas in Veritate. Encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI on integral human development in charity and truth (June 29, 2009).

EG :

Evangelii Gaudium. Apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis on the proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world (November 24, 2013).

EMCC :

Erga Migrantes Caritas Chirsti. Instruction of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (May 3, 2004).

GS :

Gaudium et Spes. Pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world promulgated by Pope Paul VI (December 7, 1965).

LS :

Laudato Si′. Encyclical letter of Pope Francis on care for our common home (May 24, 2015).

SRS :

Sollicitudo Rei Socialis. Encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II on the 20th anniversary of Populorum Progressio (December 30, 1987).

References

Biblical quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). All (English translations of) documents of the Second Vatican Council, Apostolic exhortations, Encyclicals, Papal messages and documents of Pontifical Councils have been taken from the Vatican website: www.vatican.va

  • Ambrosini, M. (2008). Irregular immigration: Economic convenience and other factors. Transfers, 14(4), 557–572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ambrosini, M. (2013). “We are against a multi-ethnic society”. Politics of exclusion at the urban level in Italy. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39(1), 136–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anthony, F.-V. (2012). Migrazione e nuova evangelizzazione. “Sradicamento” e “accoglienza” nella “Missio inter gentes”. People on the Move, 117, 97–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arendt, H. (1958). The human condition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arendt, H. (1994). Origins of totalitarism. New York: Harcourt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Attanasio, P., & Facchini, A. (2004). Rappresentanza politica e diritto di voto. In: Caritas – Migrantes (eds.). Immigrazione. Dossier statistico 2004. Roma: Nuova Anterem, 186–195.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrera, A. (2005). Economic compulsion and Christian ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Battistella, G. (2010). Diritto di migrare. In G. Battistella (Ed.), Migrazioni. Dizionario socio-pastorale (pp. 429–433). Torino: San Paolo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benedict XVI. (2006). Migrations. A sign of the times. Message of his holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the 92th world day of migrants and refugees. Vatican City (October 18, 2005).

    Google Scholar 

  • Benedict XVI. (2007). The migrant family. Message of his holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the 93th world day of migrants and refugees. Vatican City (October 18, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchini, K. (2011). Legal aid for asylum seekers. Progress and challenges in Italy. Journal of Refugees Studies, 24(2), 390–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brett, M. G. (2008). Decolonizing god. The Bible in the tides of empire. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brett, M. G. (2013). Forced migration, asylum seekers and human rights. Colloquium, 45(2), 122–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brubaker, W. R. (Ed.). (1989). Immigration and the politics of citizenship in Europe and North America. Lanham: University Press of America.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castillo Guerra, J. E. (2015). Contributions of the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church on migration. From a ‘culture of rejection’ to a ‘culture of encounter’. Exchange, 44, 403–427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Francis. (2016). Migrants and refugees challenge us. The response of the Gospel of mercy. Message for his holiness of Pope Francis for the world day of migrants and refugees. Vatican City (September 12, 2015).

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodwin-Gill, G. S. (2010). Rifugiati. In G. Battistella (Ed.), Migrazioni. Dizionario socio-pastorale (pp. 902–907). Torino: San Paolo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gorodzeisky, A. (2013). Does the type of right matter? Comparison of attitudes toward the allocation of political versus social rights to labour migrants in Israel. European Sociological Review, 29(3), 630–641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gorodzeisky, A., & Semyonov, M. (2009). Terms of exclusion. Public views towards admission and allocation of rights to immigrants in European countries. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 32(3), 401–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grillo, R., & Pratt, J. (Eds.). (2002). The politics of recognizing difference. Multiculturalism Italian-style. Aldershot/Hants: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, J. (2011). ‘The political’. The rational meaning of a questionable inheritance of political theology. In E. Mendieta & J. Van Antwerpen (Eds.), The power of religion in the public sphere (pp. 15–33). New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hentges, G. (2013). Universelle Menschenrechte in Zeiten von Frontex? Erwägen – Wissen – Ethik. Forum für Erwägungskultur, 24(2), 220–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • John Paul II. (2001). The pastoral care of migrants. A way of accomplishing the mission of the church today. Message of his holiness Pope John Paul II for the 87th world day of migrants and refugees. Vatican City (February 2, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanas, A., Scheepers, P., & Sterkens, C. (2016). Religious identification and interreligious contact in Indonesia and the Philippines: Testing the mediating roles of perceived group threat and social dominance orientation and the moderating role of context. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46(6), 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mantovan, C. (2013). Cohesion without participation. Immigration and migrants’ associations in Italy. Patterns of Prejudice, 47(3), 253–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perocco, F. (2003). L’apartheid italiano. In P. Basso & F. Perocco (Eds.), Gli immigrati in Europa. Disuguaglianze, razzismo, lotte (pp. 211–233). Milano: Franco Angeli.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prencipe, L. (2010). I papi e le migrazioni. In G. Battistella (Ed.), Migrazioni. Dizionario socio-pastorale (pp. 745–784). Torino: San Paolo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowlands, A. F. (2011). On the temptations of sovereignty. The task of Catholic social teaching and the challenge of UK asylum seekers. Political Theology, 12(6), 843–869.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sacks, J. (2003). The dignity of difference. How to avoid the clash of civilizations. London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • San Martín, M. (2009). Immigrants’ rights in the public sphere. Hanna Arendt’s concepts reconsidered. Societies Without Borders, 4, 141–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sterkens, C., & Vermeer, P. (Eds.). (2016). Religion, migration and conflict. Zürich: Lit Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomasi, S. (2010). Human rights as a framework for advocacy on behalf of the displaced. The approach of the Catholic Church. In D. Hollenbach (Ed.), Driven from home (pp. 55–69). Washington, DC: Georgetown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Ven, J. A., Dreyer, J. S., & Pieterse, H. (2004). Is there a god of human rights? The complex relationship between human rights and religion. Leiden/Boston: Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaccaria, F. (2015). Catholic Church, young people and human rights in Italy. In H.-G. Ziebertz & G. Crpic (Eds.), Religion and human rights (pp. 93–102). Zürich: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaccaria, F., Anthony, F.-V., & Sterkens, C. (2018). Religion and civil rights in Italy. An empirical exploration among secondary school students. In H. G. Ziebertz & C. Sterkens (Eds.), Religion and civil human rights in empirical perspective (Religion and Human Rights Vol. 2, pp. 91–120). Zürich: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zanfrini, L. (2010). I ‘confini’ della cittadinanza. Perché l’immigrazione disturba. Sociologia del Lavoro, 117, 40–56.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Apulian Theological Faculty, Bari, Italy

    Francesco Zaccaria

  2. Salesian Pontifical University, Rome, Italy

    Francis-Vincent Anthony

  3. Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Carl Sterkens

Authors
  1. Francesco Zaccaria
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Francis-Vincent Anthony
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carl Sterkens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesco Zaccaria .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Carl Sterkens

  2. Institute of Practical Theology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Hans-Georg Ziebertz

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Zaccaria, F., Anthony, FV., Sterkens, C. (2018). Religion for the Political Rights of Immigrants and Refugees? An Empirical Exploration Among Italian Students. In: Sterkens, C., Ziebertz, HG. (eds) Political and Judicial Rights through the Prism of Religious Belief. Religion and Human Rights, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77353-7_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77353-7_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-77352-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-77353-7

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation