The Sociology of Religion in Italy

Abstract

This article describes the complex emergence of a of religions from an essentially Catholic and confessional sociology, by way of the holding of national conferences, the setting-up of chairs of sociology of religion, and the publication of specialized reviews. The pioneers of sociology of religion, working through research centers and other scientific activity, helped produce a generation of sociologists marked by geographical diffusion and intellectual diversity. Early interest took the form of quantitative studies of religious practice, but it eventually included larger-scale qualitative and quantitative surveys, as well as typologies of new forms of religious attitudes and movements. As methodological approaches diversified, so too, though with difficulty, discussion of the theme of invisible (as distinct from civil religion) developed. This assisted conceptual diversification and the proliferation of research areas. After all the polemics that have been aroused, it is hoped that a more consensual atmosphere may inspire another national survey, the first for twenty years. It is not easy to approach the vicissitudes of the sociology of religion in Italy. This is a result of the considerable diversity of areas of study, of research centers, of schools of inquiry, ideological alignments, and the perspectives adopted. The very name of