Religious Diversity

Acronym: 
Religious Diversity
Title: 
Representing religious diversity in Europe: past and present features
Type of Project: 
National
Funding Body: 
Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca
Funding Programme: 
PRIN 2017 - SH6
Grant Agreement: 
CUP B54I19005550001 (Prot. 2017LB7CCC)
Start Date: 
18/03/2020
End Date: 
18/03/2024
Status: 
Ongoing
Role of ILC: 
Beneficiary
Project Coordinator: 
Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE)
Project Chair: 
Alberto Melloni (UNIMORE)
ILC Research Unit Chair: 

This research focuses on religious diversity as a European societal challenge and aims at providing a multi- and interdisciplinary analysis with a historical, legal and linguistic approach, capable of detecting obstacles and opportunities for an inclusive and religiously diverse society.

The historical approach offers a perspective on obstacles and opportunities based on the relationship between political power and communities of faith, as well as on the role of intra- and inter-faith dialogue and of educational systems in the representation/acceptance of religious diversity.

Legal analysis considers the study of the rights of religious minorities as key to the understanding of religious diversity in Europe, this including the legal definition and status of religious minorities, their agency through the organisation of advocacy, and the relevant actors’ discourse and societal impact.

The linguistic perspective, combined with ICT tools, is a strategic means to better understand how specifically key religious concepts have been addressed by the religious texts, in order to provide societies with critical instruments to develop a suitable wording when approaching their diversity.