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This paper attempts to reflect on the socio-legal dynamics affecting the Algerian nomadic society, with particular reference to the period between 1830 and 1960. Algeria, which has been affected at the institutional and formal level by a decisive wave of re-Islamization since the second half of the eighties of the twentieth century, has not completely left behind its rich history of linguistic, cultural, religious and legal pluralism. In addition to the kaleidoscopic complexity of its substrate and heritage, it still carries within itself a significant minority of the population that has not abandoned the condition of nomadism. At a time when migratory flows pose questions such as that of polyethnic and multi-contextual rights to the Europe of jurists, and doctrine questions the operational possibilities of an orderly pluralism (mainly as a result of the partial decline of sovereignty under the lash of the repercussions of the economy), while legal practice is unfolding in new directions, such as that of automation, the law seems to be put to the test by two sets of questions: the erosion and redrawing of geographical boundaries that determine its effectiveness on the one hand, and the unpredictable possibilities freed up by the global non-place of virtual and market negotiations on the other. Speed, movement, wars, and the instability of effective boundaries seem to be the new stumbling blocks brought about by globalization, and the uncertainty of possible solutions is almost frightening; Studying the regulatory dimension of Algerian nomads reveals ancestral solutions whose functional capacity is not undermined by the perennial change of territories, landscapes, alliances - solutions that are not immediately expendable in the contemporary world, but which constitute significant food for thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses the birth of the Master named “Intermediazione Culturale e Religiosa” at University of Florence in 2021 as one of the results of the peculiar Florentine cultural context. The Master has been suggested by the global framework (briefly described here), anyway the interreligious and multicultural interests of the intellectual Florentine élite since XIX Century created the perfect habitat for the Master’s creation. The author points out the role of the Protestant intellectual groups, but also the role of scholars as Pasquale Villari, Emanuele Rodonacachi, Pietro Chiminelli, Giuseppe De Leva, Ercole Ricciotti, Augusto Vera and Raffaele Mariani, Pietro Calamandrei, Gaetano Salvemini, Giorgio Spini and many others. The article also mentions the Jewish Florentine Community members active into the upper cultural milieu in the city and the importance of the Association “Amicizia ebraico-cristiana” for its cultural fighting against the intolerance and the religious hate. At last, the author concludes her dissertation with the very brief quotation of Giorgio La Pira and Ernesto Balducci, very well studied and analyzed by other scholars. All those actors of the multireligious and multicultural understanding helped create a cultural climate sensitive to religious diversity and cooperation between different cultural and religious actors. This is the climate which made possible the creation of the Master. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ricerche di Pedagogia e Didattica is the property of Universita di Bologna, Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Educazione and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article opens the monographic section dedicated to the relationship between religion(s) and organizations. After dwelling on the reasons of the scarce attention traditionally devoted to this nexus, the authors describe how this topic is now re-emerging almost unintentionally, through a research agenda that has gradually been enriched by contributions from different fields. They then review the main outcomes of its developments within organizational studies and highlight the most promising prospects for further study. Finally, they outline some points reaffirming the centrality of the issues addressed in the contemporary scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni is the property of Editrice Morcelliana S.p.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni is the property of Editrice Morcelliana S.p.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni is the property of Editrice Morcelliana S.p.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Using a sociological figuration model the paper addresses the theme of the “Establishment and the Outsiders - A sociological enquiry into community problems”. In this context, the paper examines the risks and problems related to the changing of subjectivity in late modernity on different levels, for instance, by dealing with processes connected to encounters between so-called “natives” in a country and immigrants - in other words, between the established and outsiders.

ABSTRACT RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of the paper is to redefine “confessionality” in religious education in Austrian schools, regarding to changing circumstances. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODOLOGY: The paper describes the history of confessional religious education in Austria, which gets several problems in different school-situations. In some schools, there are 8 and more sorts of confessional religious education. After the description of possible alternatives, a proposal of redefining confessional education is presented. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The paper starts with an overview of the history and the actual situation of religious education in Austrian schools. Currently 13 recognised religions and denominations in Austria provide religious education. In some situations religious education becomes impossible due to insufficient student numbers. So the state and religious communities will have to try and establish new models of teaching. The main part of the paper consists of pros and cons in the conceptual considerations of confessionality. RESEARCH RESULTS: It is a challenge to rethink confessional religious education: religious communities will have to take joint responsibility and provide religious education as a service to students with clear denominational features. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: There are three first steps very necessary in the next future: Commitment of the religious communities to religious education; a new concept to try at several locations; practical support concerning multi-religious events.

Copyright of Religioni e Società is the property of Fabrizio Serra Editore and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Rivista di Storia del Cristianesimo is the property of Editrice Morcelliana S.p.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The objective of the article is to promote theological reflection through a deeper understanding of inter-religious dialogue in light of New Testament data and the Church's faith. As is well-known, the early Christians handed on to the Church and to the world the most profound testimony of faith in Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen. This testimony fulfils the Church's mission to express its faith in the 'joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age' (Gaudium et spes 1). So that the Christian mission be relevant in a dialogue that is faithful to what it has to offer, namely to translate Christocentrism into practice, there is need of a more profound understanding of the magisterial teaching of the one and only mediation of Christ that is open to participation on the part of other religions: 'The unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise among creatures to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this unique source' (Lumen gentium 62 and Dominus Iesus 14), our Saviour Jesus Christ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses religious education in schools in Europe, with a focus on the balance between historical models of Christian based education and the current religious pluralism. Topics discussed include the role of the nation-state in religious education, religious pedagogy, and the place of Islam in European religious pedagogy.

This article tries to identify the principal "theological glimmers" (history, spirituality, pneumatology, and religious pluralism) through which the singularity of Jesus Christ, rediscovered as completely crucial and central during the painstaking post-conciliar reworking of theological manuals, has come to be understood in the context of Italy. It shows the role that these manuals are playing and explores the effectiveness of the systematic approaches of three prominent authors (Giovanni Moioli, Marcello Bordoni and Bruno Forte). Finally, in light of the current status of the issues, the A indicates some areas that need to be studied in greater depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European society, challenged by increasing religious diversity, needs to build up the cultural conditions of a new social cohesion, in order to assure itself the values of a responsible citizenship. School and university are involved in developing a culture of 'living together', where the dimension of religions and of non religious beliefs take on a cognitive, critical and ethical role until now unknown in public education. This essay, in detecting the rapid development of these sensitive issues on the European scene, presents and analyzes the strategic choices or the trends of educational policy that different and authoritative European bodies are adopting in these last years, with a view to legitimizing a common understanding of the religious phenomenon within a perspective of intercultural education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation in the area of the historical state in Italy the Marquisate of Saluzzo in the area of Piedmont, Italy. Among other topics addressed are the historical development of a religiously diverse population, including specific Protestant groups, the extent to which the different religious communities co-existed peacefully, and the relationship to linguistic and cultural diversity, and co-existence in the stated region of Italy.

Copyright of Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni is the property of Editrice Morcelliana S.p.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this introduction an overview is proposed on the consequences of forty years of Islamic presence in Western Europe. The presence of Muslim populations in the European public space force us to rethink some common categories concerning, in particular, the idea of integration of immigrants. To understand the changes needed, it is necessary to understand the dynamics of the development of Muslim religious identities; then we need to challenge the categories used to understand these developments; and finally we need to explore some forms of new interpretation. Some analytical introductory considerations must be proposed. First: the presence of Islam in Europe is a process of (re-)construction; and it is far from being achieved. We need to historicize our observations on the dynamics of implantation: and it is a constant mistake to consider the present state of implantation as definitive. The demands and hopes of Muslims are continuously evolving, through time and generations. Nothing shows that they will be in the future the same as now. This is true also for the Islamic thought and knowledge, and for Muslim leaderships. Second: it is important to introduce a more satisfying sociology of belongings. We have to abandon the idea that all persons coming from a certain ethnic background are, by default, 'Muslims': belonging is all but natural and obvious. The sociological concept of generation must be used, as well as the category of gender, too frequently left aside when talking about Islam and Muslims. Third: anyway, differently from other historical migrations, a part of Muslim populations openly promote a positive image of their religious identity, and want to show it in the public space. This specificity must be taken into account. Fourth: the role of the religious leaderships, their specificities, their weakness and their plurality must be taken into account and carefully observed. Fifth: the role of public institutions and their policies it is equally important, and decisive in order to construct a process of insertion and solve the emerging conflicts connected with these dynamics. This is why the common categories of interpretation are insufficient, and in particular we have to go beyond the 'multi' and the 'inter', conceptualizing pluralism in a more profound and different way. Starting from this bases, some good practices can be developped and introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses conversions to Roman Catholicism in the Near East during the 17th century under Ottoman rule, especially in the area of the city of Bethlehem. Among other topics addressed are the religious diversity of the Near East at the time including Muslims, Jews, and numerous varieties of Christians, the political and social implications of religious conversions, and specifically the area of Bethlehem.

The article discusses philosopher and theologian Raimon Panikkar's philosophical analysis of the concept of faith. It is stated that Panikkar's philosophical approach emphasizes on the clarification of the phenomenological and hermeneutics of religious experiences in its various historical and cultural expressions. Panikkar's philosophical approach involves the construction of cross-cultural discourse. Knowledge of the differences between traditions is stated to motivate such discourse.

This paper analyses the different spiritualities within the Roman Catholic Church of today as forms of pluralism. After having defined spirituality and exemplified how spiritualities have always represented 'active minorities' within the Church, we will analyse the sympathetic spirituality or solidarism as the latest form of spirituality within the Roman Catholic Church. The conclusion will suggest in general that such intra-catholic pluralism is accepted and supported by the Roman Catholic Church clever pastoral praxis as a form of governance for its complexity and inner differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on how, in the post-Vatican II Roman Catholic Church, new religious movements, emotional revivals, and a new role for laity slowly emerged. The methodological scenario includes different theories about the relationship between religion and modernity, and about how the former interacts with the latter, inter alia through secularisation, rationalization, individualisation, and privatisation of individual religion. A case study of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is of special interest. The movement had a spectacular growth internationally during the last forty years. It derived from Protestant Pentecostalism a religion (and a religiousness) which is highly emotional, and for this very reason quite original, even within the very diverse scene of contemporary intra-Catholic pluralism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussing Philip Jenkins' thesis in The Next Christendom (2004), the author argues that European Catholicism copes with two relevant challenges: on one hand the emergence of a new kind of Christianity all over the world inside and outside the Catholic Church and, on the other, the mass conversion in Asia, Africa and Latin America to new type of spirituality: the Pentecostal and Charismatic one. In any case the Old Religious Continent faces the insurgence of a variety of the Ethno-Christianities in the Ocean of the other Continents: it means the increasing tension with the historical European Churches that over the centuries evangelized the world. The paradox actually affects Europe: the new African, Asian and Latin American churches, transplanted in Europe, could act as the socio-religious movements creating a new kind of religious pluralism not completely controlled and patrolled by the historical churches, both Protestant and Catholic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses issues related to religious pluralism in Europe and Latin America. Issues concerning religious diversity in these regions and the sociology of religion are highlighted. Contribution of various Italian students in the analysis of religious pluralism in the countries, including, Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Spain is discussed.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam, taken as religious entities, have many elements in common but just as many, if not more, which are in conflict. This is the reason for their difficult historical and doctrinal relationship. The author recalls these elements with the conviction of their importance for a detailed understanding of the three religions, their relationship to one another and their contribution to safeguarding peace among people. The clear and convinced acceptance of their own diversity, which is objectively conflictual and, at the same time, a necessity for mutual respect, even in the public arena, are the only guarantees for their peaceful religious ‘competition’ in today's pluralistic world, making it possible to prevent conflicts among them and reduce the threats to peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fact that the state is secular no longer has the priority of indicating an attitude towards religion on the part of the state, but the ways and means with which the state tackles the problem of the cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversities that cut through its own population. These days, the debate about secularism cannot be limited any more to a question that turns exclusively on the dialectic between State and Church, without considering the ethical and cultural fragmentation nourished on the one hand by atomising individualism and on the other by society's division into partial communities. Two notions of secularism emerge in this new context. The first refers to a set of principles and values (tolerance, democracy, freedom, equality etc.) around which citizenship should he constructed: in this sense, secularism sets itself up as the "civil religion" of the Europeans (as opposed to Christianity, which others believe should he fulfilling the same function). The second sets itself up as a rule of social and religious pluralism. This second notion of secularism is partially asymmetric to the first: the terrain it occupies is not primarily that of contents, but that of means; it does not take the form of secularism as a programme, hut of secularism as a method. These two notions of secularism deserve to he kept clearly distinct, as the one is substantial in nature, while the other is methodological. While Europe may tend more towards secularism or towards Christianity as its civil religion, European society cannot afford to do without this second dimension of secularism if it is to avoid betraying its identity. Such a step would in fact imply giving up the mediation of law, which is what stops any one system of values (even the one espoused by the majority) from taking over the institutions of the state and transforming them into a great sounding board, so as to homogenise the ultimate sense of belonging, the beliefs and preferences of its citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After having reminded the main 'traveller fellows' met (F. Balducci, D. M. Turoldo, L. Sartori, L. Sandri, L. Orlando, it La Valle), the ideological profile of the Group, the attitude and the mentality of an ideal type, 'the Pluralist' is outlined. The latter reveals a sharp social sensitiveness, is open to the critic and the comparison, cultivates a certain ironical spirit; he is able to be indignant, seeks constantly relationships but he is often isolated; he bears the social label of deviant, he is distressed by the secularisation disease: in other words, the pluralist seeks to break the identification between the individual and the institution, in order to falsify each religion and each other idolatric situation, so that the individual might seek his salvation without falling in the lap of idols, sacred or not, and against each objective alliance between the established order and the religions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article resumes the history and the ideological identity of the "Group for Pluralism and Dialogue", a small association acting in Verona since 1975. This case-study provides with an emblematic representation of the last thirty years of history of the Italian society and the Catholic Church. Such a reconstruction, devised as a qualitative inquiry of the religious phenomena, on the basis of the issues treated and the materials elaborated by the Group, lays in the theoretical background of the sociological and theological debate on the secularisation and uses a typology distinguishing among `religion of certainties' and `religion of confidence'. Described in essential terms the simple organisational structure of the Group and the features of its members, the fundamental issues debated are reviewed: the support to a free practice of consciousness, the critical analysis of the functioning of the religious structures, the opportunities and obstacles to pluralism and tolerance in politics, the decay of the public administration and education. After having reminded how the main `traveller fellows' met (E. Balducci, D. M. Turoldo, L. Sartori, L. Sandri, L. Orlando, R. La Valle), the ideological profile of the Group, the attitude and the mentality of an ideal type, `the Pluralist', is outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews three recent books on religion and, based on these texts and on the theoretical framework set forth by the religious economy model, illustrates the main characteristics of Italian religious pluralism. Three main peculiarities of the Italian religious economy emerge from the analysis: a) the enduring support given by the state to the Catholic Church; b) the presence of a non-Catholic religious offer that, in spite of its richness and variety, does not succeed in attracting more than a very limited share of total religious demand; and c) the wide differentiation of self-defined Catholics in terms of religious practices, beliefs and experiences. It is suggested that, in order to understand such peculiarities and their underlying mechanisms, researchers should both take the religious economy model into full account and adopt more sophisticated methodological approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several conferences concerning sociology of religion. The conference titled "Religious Pluralism in Politics, Law and Society" was held from September 18-20, 2008 in Rome. A seminar on landscape religion in the U.S., Europe and China was held from November 6-7, 2008. The conference on the challenges of religious pluralism will be held from July 27-31, 2009.

The article offers information on the conference on the ethnic churches in Italy that was held in Turin, Italy on March 14, 2007. The churches of immigrants in Italy that depicts religious pluralism were taken up for discussion in the conference. The first session was presided over by Giuseppe Giordan, whereas the second session was presided over by Roberto Cipriani. Detailed information on the conference's program schedule is also presented.

The article presents the theme discussed in the "Religione, spiritualità e benessere" section of the April 2005 issue of the journal "quaderni di sociologia." Asserting itself of modernity, the article examines how various supporters of the theory of the "secolarizzazione" have supported the progressive passing of the religion. The religious phenomena is the one that is traced in the present day world through the medium of the theory. The resetting of the religious panorama to the inside of post-modernity, however, comprises heterogeneous elements somewhat: from the new religious movements to the inside of the traditional churches, asserting itself to the seven magical and esoteric groups. But the marks to which the new socio-religious situation more specifically is related to is pluralism that the situation forces to compare and to rewrite with various aspects of sensibility. The contributions that the authors introduce in this section of the journal testify such new sensibility. Noted contributions are from philosophers Giuseppe Giordan and Régis Dericquebourg.