Immigration and Cultural Pluralism in Italy: Multiculturalism as a Missing Model

Abstract

The presence of ever-increasing numbers of immigrants in the European social landscape is not merely a quantitative fact. Changes in the quantitative levels of so many different indicators (economic, social, cultural, political, religious) produce qualitative changes also. These changes are often interpreted in terms of multiculturalism: that is to say, societies becoming more and more plural, in terms of cultures and religions. Italian can be considered a multicultural society only with some difficulty. While empirical evidence would point in this direction, Italy is normally considered a monocultural and monoreligious (Roman Catholic) country. This is the case even though immigration — because it is increasingly important, statistically, and in terms of changes produced in the society — undermines the self-image. As a result, the Italian people and various governing coalitions have not yet reached a self-comprehension as a plural society. While immigration is now seen as a physiological process, cultural and religious pluralism is often considered a sort of pathology. This paper analyzes the Italian legislative process on immigration — stressing how the cultural aspects of immigration have not really led to the construction of a model of cultural pluralism — while underscoring the fact that there has been no reflection, in the public space, on multiculturalism (understood not as a theory, but as an empirical reality). In the conclusion, the author (given the lack of an ideological reference model) considers the opportunities currently available for constructing a more realistic model of cultural relations.