Silent Revolution in the Country of the Pope: From Catholicism as “The Religion of Italians” to the Pluralistic “Italy of Religion”

Abstract

Italy is a country that is used to perceiving itself and being perceived as homogeneous in matters of religion. External images provide clear confirmation of this point. Whether in tourist guides, or newspaper articles, or books written by foreigners—including specialist writers such as historians or sociologists of religion—Italy is usually defined as a “Catholic country” (Allievi 2003a; Allievi and Diotallevi 2004). The “Country of the Pope” is not known for being a religiously pluralistic country. Even if the Pope is ever less frequently an Italian today, and will be so in the future, Italy is his temporal residence and his indubitable curial dominion. This widespread perception is notably fostered by the presence, on the Italian peninsula, of the global centre of Catholicism, that is, the Vatican, or, politically speaking, the Holy See. In addition, one need only think of the wealth of historical and architectural legacies, the abundance of churches, basilicas, and symbols of Catholicism, the way the Catholic tradition visually saturates folklore, the prominence of high-ranking clerics in the media, and—of course—the fact that it is the most visible religious practice. This perception is, moreover, not the sole privilege of foreigners. The Catholic Church—whose interest in the matter is self-evident—asserts this but so too does everyday linguistic utterance.