Abstract

This article reviews three recent books on religion and, based on these texts and on the theoretical framework set forth by the religious economy model, illustrates the main characteristics of Italian religious pluralism. Three main peculiarities of the Italian religious economy emerge from the analysis: a) the enduring support given by the state to the Catholic Church; b) the presence of a non-Catholic religious offer that, in spite of its richness and variety, does not succeed in attracting more than a very limited share of total religious demand; and c) the wide differentiation of self-defined Catholics in terms of religious practices, beliefs and experiences. It is suggested that, in order to understand such peculiarities and their underlying mechanisms, researchers should both take the religious economy model into full account and adopt more sophisticated methodological approaches.