Research projects

Religious Minorities in the Euro-mediterranean Space (ReMinEm)

Preventing discrimination and persecution. Patterns of inclusion of religious minorities in the Euro-Mediterranean area

The project takes into consideration three European countries with different Christian traditions (Portugal, Denmark, Greece) and two Middle East countries with a Muslim majority (Lebanon and Egypt). It is focused on three policy areas: marriage and family, public schools, faith-based private schools.

Taking into account the historical, cultural, political and religious differences that characterize the two groups of countries, the research examines how much RM rights are respected and promoted. The project is based on the working hypothesis that the differences between Europe and Middle East do not prevent the identification of some common political and legal principles that, even in the variety of their concrete applications, can advance the inclusion of religious minorities, reduce discrimination and prevent their persecution. Rather, differences call for reflection on the best way to implement these principles, taking into account the variety of contexts in which they are to be concretely applied in order to ensure the greatest possible effectiveness.

The one-year-long project is funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. It is led by the Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK, Trento), with the participation of the Adyan Foundation (Beirut) and the "Freedom of Religion or Belief and Foreign Policy Initiative" (University of Sussex). The final report is available at https://atlasminorityrights.eu. For more information, please contact rossella.bottoni@unitn.it.

The inclusion of religious minorities and the development of multicultural   dialogue for the growth of democracy (MiReDiaDe)

The potentialities of the Italian model in the Mediterranean area 

This is in part a continuation of the ReMinEm project. It compares some Mediterranean countries in two policy areas (school and education; marriage and family) in order to compare or contrast the strategies of inclusion or exclusion of RMs, and to assess the extent to which RM rights are respected and promoted. The examined European countries are Croatia (a Catholic-majority country whose constitution affords special protection to minorities, including religious ones), Cyprus (a Christian Orthodox-majority country where there are still some traces of the Ottoman millet system), France (a secular - laïc - and separatist country that nevertheless maintains the Napoleonic 19th-century system of recognized cults in the regions of Alsace and Moselle) and Turkey (a Muslim-majority country, where the principle of secularism - laiklik - was constitutionalized as early as 1937). As to the Mediterranean southern shore, this project takes into consideration another Muslim-majority country, Algeria (where Islam is the state religion). 

In addition, this project aims at investigating the development of multicultural and interreligious dialogue as an instrument of growth of democracy and essential precondition of peace. These dynamics will be compared with the system developed in Italy, in order to assess whether the latter can be a model for the Mediterranean area. 

The one-year-long project is funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. It is led by the Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose Giovanni XXIII (FSCIRE, Bologna), with the participation of the Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK, Trento) and the Research Center “Religion, Law and Economy in the Mediterranean Area” (REDESM, Como). The final report is available at https://atlasminorityrights.eu. For more information, please contact rossella.bottoni@unitn.it.

The role of religious minorities in the relations between the two Mediterranean shores (ReMiMeSo)

Pluralistic societies and institutional dialogue 

The ReMiMeSo project aims to compare the strategies for integrating religious minorities in Italy and in some Mediterranean countries: a country with a Catholic inspired Concordat system (Malta), another with a separatist oriented system (Slovenia), the systems of two countries with a Muslim tradition (Tunisia and Morocco), and a country with a Jewish background (Israel).

The data required for this comparison will be collected through questionnaires sent to legal experts and representatives of religious minorities. As in the previous projects (MiReDiaDe), the inclusion of minorities will be considered in relation to two policy areas: marriage and family relations on the one hand and public and faith-based private schools on the other. These areas are indeed strategic for analysing the different facets of multicultural and multi-religious dialogue.

The sociological analysis will also focus on inclusion and dialogue policies. Indeed, advancing proposals for inclusion strategies and development of institutional dialogue with religious minorities is one of the project goals.

The project will include the creation of a database with questionnaires, infographics, information on the socio-political history and relations with minorities of the different countries. A comparative legal and sociological analysis between the countries and the drafting of policy lines and recommendations it is included in the final report available at https://atlasminorityrights.eu. The results of the project has been presented and discussed at a conference held in April 9, 2025 at the University of Insubria (Como).

The project is funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. It is led by the Research Center “Religion, Law and Economy in the Mediterranean Area” (REDESM, Como). For more information, please contact ilaria.valenzi@uninsubria.it.

Motivations, Attitudes, and Practices of Jehovah's Witnesses (JW-MAP)

A cross-cultural and multi-country study

The objective of the JW-MAP research project is to provide scientifically precise data and information that will help to reduce the distance between the "internal perception", that is, JWs' self-awareness, or how they view their own beliefs, attitudes, and practices, and the "external perception", that is, how the general public understands and evaluates the beliefs, attitudes, and practices of JWs. Without this first fundamental step, relations between JWs, public authorities and the general public are likely to remain tense. This will prevent any real progress in terms of social integration and legal recognition.

The project, which began in 2023, considers six countries with different cultural backgrounds and socio-legal attitudes toward JWs. They are: Argentina, Canada, France, Japan, Nigeria, and United Kingdom. In each country, particular attention has been given to five policy areas (education, family, gender, health and well-being issues, participation in public life), with a focus on questions that generate tensions between JWs and a part of the country's population.

For an in-depth overview, see 

Ferrari, S. (2025). A New Research Project on Jehovah’s Witnesses. Investigating the Gap Between Internal and External Perception in Six Countries.

For more information, please contact silvio.ferrari@unimi.it.

PARTNERS AND SPONSORS