Governing Catholic religious education in Italian state schools: Between the revision of the Concordat and social movements, 1974-1984 Cover Image

Governing Catholic religious education in Italian state schools: Between the revision of the Concordat and social movements, 1974-1984
Governing Catholic religious education in Italian state schools: Between the revision of the Concordat and social movements, 1974-1984

Author(s): Guillaume Silhol
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Political Sciences, Civil Society, Governance, Public Administration, Public Law, Local History / Microhistory, Canon Law / Church Law, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II - Wydział Prawa, Prawa Kanonicznego i Administracji
Keywords: religious education; Concordat; social movements; social problem; schools; religious freedom

Summary/Abstract: This article focuses on the redefinition of Catholic religious education in Italian state schools, from compulsory religious instruction into a non-compulsory discipline of “religious culture”, by analyzing how the issue is framed and negotiated by political, religious and educational actors between 1974 and 1984. The negotiations between governmental and Church representatives in the revision of the Concordat led to attempts at a compromise on religious education, its regime and its guarantees for students’ choices. However, social movements and school reforms forced various actors and institutions to reframe it in non-confessional, pedagogical and professional terms in public arenas. “Religious culture”, as a category promoted by teachers and intellectuals, became both a social problem and the main justification for the ownership of the Catholic Church over the problem.

  • Issue Year: 2017
  • Issue No: 20
  • Page Range: 167-184
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: English