01/07/2026 18:30 - 19:30

HALL: Parenzo - A14

Contact: Gad Elrab A.

Chair: Mazzoni G.

The system for protecting religious practice within the Italian legal framework, while based on the principle of secularity and aimed at guaranteeing equal freedom for all confessions, continues to reflect, in numerous normative and practical aspects, the imprint of the religious model that historically shaped its construction.
A prime example is the figure of the minister of worship, developed by the state legislator based on the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church and subsequently extended to other confessions through legal instruments that do not always capture their specific characteristics.
This panel aims to critically analyze the notion of the minister of worship within the Italian legal system, highlighting the legal recognition challenges that emerge with particular intensity for more recently established religious communities. These communities, characterized by organizational models different from the Catholic one, by a distinct configuration of relationships between the faithful and religious leaders, and by forms of leadership that are not always institutionalized, struggle to fit into the traditional frameworks presupposed by state law. This results in evident issues of (in)equality, both in terms of the exercise of individual religious rights and in the broader relations between the State and religious confessions.
Building on an analysis of the legal system and the diverse religious and cultural realities it seeks to regulate, the panel will present a case study whose specifics significantly illustrate the practical implications of the issue of ministers of worship: penitentiary institutions.
The panel seeks to raise questions regarding the compatibility of the current legal framework with the principle of secularity, highlighting the need to rethink the category of minister of worship in a way that is more inclusive within an increasingly complex religious society.