Ricerc@Sapienza

This chapter aims to investigate the influence of international law on
the constitutional protection of religious freedom in Italy. Religious freedom has historically
played a decisive role in the evolution of rights protection; therefore the regulation
of the religious phenomenon is suitable to a multilevel protection having effects on constitutional
protection. The essay examines in particular the two areas of greatest influence
of international law on religious freedom: the relationship between Italy and the
Holy See and the human rights protection. Accordingly, the slow affirmation of the principle
of secularism in Italy will be addressed. The analysis carried out on both the relationship
between the State and the Catholic Church and the legal issues related to the
exposition of religious symbols highlights how international law has played a secondary
role. The same holds true also as regards the constitutional protection of religious freedom.
As a consequence, the right to religious freedom has developed autonomously
from freedom of conscience and has favoured relations between the state and religious
confessions. In the end, international law (above all European law) could not influence
the secularization process of Italian constitutional law. That has evidently affected the
implementation of the principle of equality beyond religious barriers.