Suchergebnisse

Methodological literature dealing with the challenges in sampling, recruiting and engaging research participants for qualitative interviews usually assumes that potential informants are informed. But what happens when the potential informants make it clear that they have little to say because under-informed on the topic? This article explores the challenges in recruiting and engaging under-informed research participants by revisiting my fieldwork experience as a researcher for the ERC-funded project GRASSROOTSMOBILISE – Directions in Religious Pluralism in Europe. The article describes potential interviewees' claims of under-information as a specific type of reluctance, displaying in both the recruitment and the interview processes, and discusses the potential strategies to overcome this reluctance by paying attention to the role of researchers.

The catholic bio-politics, in recent years, addressed a variety of issues. In this contribution I focus specifically on assisted reproduction and stem cell research in order to analyse the Catholic neo-feminist discourse, and the complex interplay of discursive arenas. Namely, I focus the attention on the reconfiguration of religious discourse in terms of attention to feminism and gender rights, on the one side, and discursive opportunity structures in terms of venues' opportunities and constraints on the other. The analysis underlined two main elements. First of all, in relation to the process of judicialization of politics, the analysis pointed out the different opportunities and constraints characterizing the different venues. Namely, judicialization of politics and venue shopping are not favourable the same way for all the actors. Second, a neo-conservative frame of revolutionary maternity gained large room in the Italian political sphere, and it is likely to gain even more resonance in light of the current debate on surrogacy, related to the never-ending discussion on the forms of regulation of same-sex couples in Italy. ; A biopolítica católica, nos últimos anos, abordou uma variedade de questões. Nesta contribuição eu foco especifcamente a reprodução assistida e investigação em células estaminais, a fm de analisar o discurso neofeminista católico, e a complexa interação nas arenas discursivas. Ou seja, eu concentro a atenção na reconfguração do discurso religioso em termos de atenção ao feminismo e direitos de gênero, por um lado, e as estruturas de oportunidade discursivas em termos de oportunidades e restrições dos locais na outra. A análise destacou dois elementos principais. Em primeiro lugar, em relação ao processo de judicialização da política, a análise apontou as diferentes oportunidades e constrangimentos que caracterizam os diferentes locais. Ou seja, a judicialização da política e comercio local não são favoráveis da mesma forma para todos os atores. Em segundo lugar, um quadro neoconservador da maternidade revolucionária ganhou um grande espaço na esfera política italiana, e é provável que ganhe ainda mais ressonância na luz do debate atual sobre a sub-rogação, relacionado com a discussão interminável sobre as formas de regulação dos casais do mesmo sexo na Itália. ; Au cours des dernières années, la bio-politique catholique a soulevé une série de questions. Dans cette contribution, je me concentre spécifquement sur la reproduction médicalement assistée et les cellules souches, pour analyser le discours catholique néo-féministe, et le complexe jeu des arènes discursives. D'un côté, j'analyse la reconfguration du discours religieux en termes d'attention au féminisme et gender rights. De l'autre, j'analyse la structure des opportunités discursives en termes d' opportunités et de contraintes des différentes arènes. L'analyse souligne deux éléments principaux. Premièrement, en ce qui concerne le processus de judiciarisation de la politique, l'analyse a souligné les différentes opportunités et les contraintes qui caractérisent les différentes arènes : la judiciarisation de la politique et le "venue shopping" ne sont pas favorables de la même façon pour tous les acteurs. Deuxièmement, un cadre néo-conservateur de maternité révolutionnaire a gagné un grande rôle dans la sphère politique italienne, et il est susceptible de gagner encore plus de résonance en relation avec le débat actuel sur la maternité de substitution, lié à la discussion sans fn sur les formes de régulation des couples de même sexe en Italie.

This paper provides an introductory review of the literature mapping the gendered analyses of the categories of secularism and secularization from a sociological point of view, with the aim of providing some coordinates and bibliographical references and showing the theoretical and analytical implications of the gendered analyses of secularism in relation to the grammars of contemporary democracy. Firstly, it explores how a gendered analysis contributes to redefining the analytical concepts of secularism and secularization. Secondly, it highlights the contributions of women's, gender, and queer studies to the analysis of secularism and religion. Thirdly, it focuses on the tensions between women's and religious agency, showing how and to what extent the debate internal to the sociology of religion is in fact highly relevant to current sociological analyses. ; Através de uma revisão de caráter introdutório da literatura, este artigo visa cartografar as análises das categorias secularismo e secularização desenvolvidas a partir de uma perspetiva de género e de um ponto de vista sociológico, com o objetivo de fornecer algumas coordenadas e referências bibliográficas, bem como de mostrar as implicações teóricas e analíticas deste tipo de estudos do secularismo em relação às gramáticas da democracia contemporânea. Em primeiro lugar, explora-se a forma como uma análise levada a cabo sob a perspetiva de género contribui para redefinir os conceitos analíticos de secularismo e secularização. Em segundo lugar, destacam-se os contributos dos estudos sobre as mulheres, de género e queer para a análise do secularismo e da religião. Em terceiro lugar, realçam-se as tensões entre a intervenção política das mulheres e da religião, mostrando como e em que medida o debate em curso no âmbito da sociologia da religião é, de facto, de grande importância para os estudos sociológicos atuais. ; Par le truchement d'une révision au caractère préliminaire de la littérature, cet article a pour but de cartographier les analyses des catégories de sécularisme et de sécularisation développées à partir d'un point de vue de genre et d'une perspective sociologique, dans le but de fournir quelques coordonnés et références bibliographiques, tout autant que de montrer les implications théoriques et analytiques de ce type d'études du sécularisme para rapport aux grammaires de la démocratie contemporaine. Tout d'abord, nous cherchons à savoir comment une analyse menée d'un point de vue de genre contribue à redéfinir les concepts analytiques de sécularisme et de sécularisation. Ensuite, nous mettons en relief des études sur les femmes, de genre et queer pour l'analyse du sécularisme et de la religion. Enfin, nous soulignons les tensions existant entre l'intervention politique des femmes et la religion, en démontrant comment et dans quelle mesure le débat en cours dans le cadre de la sociologie de la religion revêt, de fait, une haute importance pour les études sociologiques actuelles.

The catholic bio-politics, in recent years, addressed a variety of issues. In this contribution I focus specifically on assisted reproduction and stem cell research in order to analyse the Catholic neo-feminist discourse, and the complex interplay of discursive arenas. Namely, I focus the attention on the reconfiguration of religious discourse in terms of attention to feminism and gender rights, on the one side, and discursive opportunity structures in terms of venues' opportunities and constraints on the other. The analysis underlined two main elements. First of all, in relation to the process of judicialization of politics, the analysis pointed out the different opportunities and constraints characterizing the different venues. Namely, judicialization of politics and venue shopping are not favourable the same way for all the actors. Second, a neo-conservative frame of revolutionary maternity gained large room in the Italian political sphere, and it is likely to gain even more resonance in light of the current debate on surrogacy, related to the never-ending discussion on the forms of regulation of same-sex couples in Italy.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between religious and political involvement in members of Catholic associations today in the northern Italian Region of Lombardy, which in last decades appeared to anticipate Italian political changes. Right through history religion has been intensely politicized in Italy, with religious associations always playing a prominent social/ political role. This study draws on material from an original survey to focus on the associations themselves and their membership in order to flesh out their character and political orientation. It will then go on to use its findings to test the consistency of a hypothesis presuming a growing internal heterogeneity in electoral behaviour.

This contribution focuses on the migrant women's portraits that emerge in the Italian press. This discursive arena is dealt with by paying attention to what is taken for granted in the discourses about migrant women and their reproductive rights and behaviours. The analysis is based on a dataset of 634 newspapers articles, published between June 2005 and July 2012, and include both partisan, non-partisan, and religious press. It highlights the culturalization of migrant women, mainly portrayed as victims, and points to the high risk of xenophobic manipulation and political instrumentalization of migrant women's rights.

1. Religion, secularism, and the public sphere -- 2. Religion and politics in Italy -- 3. Methodology of research -- 4. LGBT rights and same-sex unions -- 5. The beginning of life : abortion and stem cell research -- 6. The end of life : euthanasia -- 7. Religious instruction and religion in education -- 8. The mosque : an exception to religious freedom? -- 9. The Muslim dress code -- 10. National identity on the cross -- 11. Framing the issues -- 12. Actors and coalitions -- 13. Conclusion : culture wars, Italy and Europe.

This book is to understand the European political debate about contentious issues framed in terms of religious values by religious and/or secular actors in 21st century, focusing specifically on the Italian case, which, due to its peculiar history and contemporary political landscape, is a paradigmatic case for the study of the relationships between religion and politics. In recent years, a number of controversies related to religious issues have characterised the European public debate at both the EU and the national level. The 'affaire du foulard' in France (2004-2011), the referendum on abortion in Portugal (2007), the recognition of same-sex marriages in many Western European States - from Belgium (2003), to Spain (2005), to France (2013) -, the debate over bioethics and the regulation of euthanasia (legalized in Belgium and the Netherlands - 2002), as well as the discussion on religious pluralism and the religious roots of Europe in the EU Constitution, are only a few examples of contentious issues involving religion. All these debates have been at the centre of the political and public spheres across Europe, contributing to revive the attention towards the role of religion in contemporary societies, and highlighting the diverse forms of political secularism in Europe. The book aims at shedding light on the interrelation between the different debates, as well as their broader meaning, through the analysis of a paradigmatic case: Italy. The country summarizes and sometimes exasperates wider European trends, both because of the peculiar role traditionally played by the Vatican in Italian politics and for the rise, since the 1990s, of new political entrepreneurs eager to exploit ethical and civilizational issues.

AbstractThe issues related to the role of religion in the public education system have been a public topic for a long time, and related debates have been cyclically revived by specific events. In this contribution, we explore the reasons why Italian grassroots actors do not tend to size up the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) jurisprudence and the plurality of juridical regimes dealing with religion and education as windows of opportunity. First, we analyze the intertwinement of different juridical regimes dealing with religion and education, and the national case law on the topic. Then, drawing on original semi-structured interviews, we analyze the indirect effects of the ECtHR case law on the mobilizations and advocacy strategies at the grassroots level around religion and education. Finally, we discuss the research outcomes, outlining how the non-interference of the Court in state-religions regimes may result in the limited impact and effectiveness of the Court's protection of religious freedoms.

In this contribution, we address the everlasting debate on the definition of religion from a multiscalar perspective. Supranational courts – and, especially, the European Court of Human Rights – gained a major legitimising role in this respect. One may thus expect that religious minorities with uncertain status look at supranational courts as attractive and favourable venues. The 'local' must be taken into account, too, in the complex government of religious diversity: decentralised policies and dif- ferent religious profiles make room for adapting the treatment of religious minorities at the local level, especially in situations char- acterised by the absence of a legal national framework. Grounded on an analysis of national and international case law, and on interviews addressing the representatives of religious minorities, our contribution explores the multiscalar repertories of action of religious minorities in pursuing the official recognition and the protection of their religious rights.