Abstract

During the last two decades the Community of Sant'Egidio has been emerging as a key actor in interfaith dialogue. The Community is devoted to constant work to develop institutional and social links with various religious and political actors, notably through the organisation of the annual conference «Hommes et Religions». Our ethnography of the 2005 conference focuses on how a common world is constructed among the different participants. The Community seems to put a high premium on singular religious identities (particularly the Roman Catholic Church). But instead of trying to negotiate various representations of what could be Veritas, it fosters agreement on common ethical and cultural goods, like peace, living together, and the dialogue of civilisations. Thus, the Community of Sant'Egidio endorses a paradigm of «co-existence» more than one of «composition». In the article we elaborate on this specific management of religious conflicts.