Religious Literacy, Law and History

Alberto Melloni is a Full Professor of History of Christianity at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, director of the Fondazione per le scienze religiose Giovanni XXIII in Bologna and chair holder of the UNESCO Chair on Religious Pluralism and Peace at the University of Bologna. He is principal investigator for the European Infraia ReIReS project headed by the Fondazione and coordinator of the Resilience research infrastructure project, and he spearheaded the establishment of the European Academy of Religion. Francesca Cadeddu is Research Fellow at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and at the Fondazione per le scienze religiose Giovanni XXIII in Bologna. She is affiliated to the Faiths and Civil Society Unit at Goldsmiths University of London and serves as secretary general of the European Academy of Religion. She works on the history of American Catholicism in the twentieth century and on religious literacy in Italy and Europe.

Preface; Part I: One Literacy, More Literacies?; 1. European Religious Illiteracy: The Historical Framework of a Removed Agenda; 2. Religious Literacy in Modern Europe; 3. Different Illiteracies for Different Countries: Are There No Data for Religious Illiteracy?; 4. Religious Rights, Educational Duties?; Part II: Understanding Illiteracies, Debating Disciplines?; 5. The Ethics of the Torah Compared to Neopaganism; 6. Theological Roots of Religious Illiteracy; 7. Philosophical Implications of Religious Illiteracy; 8. Is Religious Illiteracy a Private or a Public Issue?; 9. Secularism and Religious Literacy; 10. Is ‘Religious’ Violence Really Religious?; 11. European Law and the Veil: Muslim Women from Victims to Emblems of the Enemy; Part III: Building Literacy, Shaping Alphabets; 12. Why Study Religions in Publicly Funded Schools?; 13. Teaching Faith; 14. The Role of the Media in the Development of Religious Illiteracy; Part IV: Views and Experiences; 15. The Attitude of the Media to Religion; 16. A Jewish Educational Approach to Religious Pluralism; 17. Positions and Actions in the European Islam;