Religious Diversity

Type of project: National  |  Start date: 18/03/2020  |  End date: 18/03/2024

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.