Italy’s Secularity and Freedom of Religion under the COVID-19 Pandemic

This chapter analyses the sociological and legal characteristics of Italy’s religious tendencies under the COVID-19 crisis, in respect of which the logic of emergency has impacted on a society that is becoming more and more secular. The COVID-19 crisis highlighted the increase in religious pluralism in Italy over the previous three decades, not only in terms of the proliferation of different denominations but also in terms of the growing presence of other sociocultural groups. For these very reasons, the COVID-19 crisis went to the heart of the historical dilemma of religious freedom and thus to the principle of equality that, as such, implies the right to be different. This also reflects the fact that, although Italy had one of the highest vaccination coverage rates in the European Union, protests against both the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination in general were widely reported in the media and public debate. These protests were mainly seen as populist, driven by individualistic demands, in which religious institutions did not play an important role. By contrast, the main denominational authorities urged their followers to be vaccinated and to follow the advice of public health officials.