The Debate on the Crucifix in Public Spaces in Twenty-First Century Italy

Abstract

Although the presence of the crucifix in public classrooms and other public offices is an ancient Italian tradition, it was never a political issue until recent times. In the early 2000s, some court cases and other events (first at the national and later also at the European level) turned the public display of the crucifix into a major issue in the national political debate. This article analyses the frames used by social and political actors in the different phases of this debate, in order to understand its evolution and its connection to the broader discussion on values in the public sphere developed in Italy in recent times.

Notes

¹ For a historical reconstruction of the Italian legislation about the crucifix and the specific regulations of its display in public spaces see Manco (2005).

² For a critical summary on the wide literature on frames see also Dewulf et al. (2009).

³ Except for the Royal Decree n. 4336 (15.9.1860) addressing elementary schools. The RD was a law enacted by the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont – the founding state of the kingdom of Italy, which was established in 1861.

⁴ This document stated that the changes intervened in the discipline of religious teaching in public schools (that is, the secularization of the educational system and the transformation of religious teaching into an optional course) should have no impact on the presence of the crucifix (defined by the council as ‘the symbol of the Christian culture and civilization, in its historical roots, as a universal value, independently from a specific religious tradition’).

⁵ And the crucifix also became a matter of scientific debate, especially in the Law field (see Bin et al., 2004; Cardia, 2010; Mancini, 2008).

⁶ Smith is an Italian citizen who converted to Islam, well known for his radical stances on many issues and his provocative statements. He is the leader of the Union of Italian Muslims (Unione dei Musulmani d'Italia), which he claims to be representative of the Muslim community in Italy, although its opponents contend that it numbers very few members.

⁷ ‘Padania’ is the name traditionally used by the Northern League to refer to the northern Italy areas, that they would like to become independent or, at least, autonomous from the Italian state.

⁸ Waldensians are a small but authoritative Protestant church, whose followers are traditionally settled in some areas of the Piedmont region.

⁹ Luzzatto (2011) also wrote a book, Il crocifisso di stato, supporting the removal of the crucifix.