Publisher's Synopsis
Through the process of analysis of the relationships between religious and political powers, and then the role of religion in public area in Italy and other countries, this work considers different fields, such as politics, culture, and public institutions. In these sectors, differences in the fields of religion, laity models, and secularism of different social parts can be noticed. It is evident that the concept of laity, in the various countries, is to be considered mainly in relation to the ways of interaction between State and civil society. The deepening of these intertwining processes, composed of original and eccentric elements, can be inserted in international studies on the different forms of secularisation and of the crisis of the State in continental Europe and in the regions outside Europe. By reviewing the role of religion in the public area and the relationship between State and Church in the first years of the new century, the volume holds the considerations on some points of the scientific debate, which offer an opportunity to notice the present features of the relationship between political and religious powers, in Italy and abroad.
