Introduction
Contemporary Italy is characterised by a form of “super-diversity” that affects multiple levels and dimensions of social, political and institutional life. In particular, religious diversity has taken on unprecedented significance in the country’s history, due both to migration and to the identity redefinitions underway among new generations of Italian citizens. By approaching religious pluralisation as a phenomenon that stands in counterpoint to a secularised public sphere, the social sciences have examined how Italian institutions respond to increasingly diverse spiritual needs and orientations. Research has focused on the management of diversity in public space, in prisons, in schools, and in places of care or death.
This project concentrates on hospital settings and aims to understand in which situations religion emerges as a meaningful dimension and how it fits into the relationship between patients and healthcare professionals. It focuses in particular on the experience with/of Muslim individuals, considering Islam as an important “mirror case”, both because of the size of its presence in local areas and because of its persistent association with notions of “otherness”, which still dominate public discourse.
Research programme
Engaging in dialogue with studies on “spiritual care” on the one hand, and with the sociology of institutions and intercultural relations on the other, the project starts from a number of research questions: How is religious plurality recognised, perceived and managed in hospital settings? In which cases does religious diversity, and Muslim diversity in particular, become visible and relevant in hospital spaces and practices? What policies and strategies are implemented by the various actors (social, institutional and religious) to respond to increasingly diverse spiritual and religious needs?
To answer these questions, the project will adopt qualitative methodologies and will be based on the analysis of a number of case studies, namely specific hospital contexts selected on the basis of their experience in managing religious diversity and, more broadly, intercultural relations. The research will be organised in several phases which, given the recursive nature of social research, may involve returning to previous stages, reconsidering what has already been developed and integrating new investigative perspectives as they emerge. The main steps are as follows:
In-depth review of national and international literature – theoretical, methodological and empirical – on cultural and religious plurality in hospitals and healthcare facilities, also, but not exclusively, with reference to migrant populations.
Collection of information from databases and legislative and organisational documents concerning religious plurality in general, and Muslim presence in particular, in Italian hospital settings.
Conducting exploratory interviews with key informants in order to gather material for analysing the research topic and to develop interview guides for in-depth interviews to be carried out, in later stages, with research participants.
Implementation of at least two case studies in two different regional contexts considered particularly significant, either because they show critical issues or because they can be seen as “best practices”. The case studies will include several actions: collection of specific organisational documents, ethnographic observations, and individual interviews and/or focus groups with social and institutional actors.
Expected results
While drawing on a consolidated body of literature in both the Italian and international contexts, the research aims to propose and advance innovative interpretative hypotheses by shedding light on the everyday “micro-politics” observed in hospital settings and/or during interviews and focus groups, as well as on the strategies and perspectives of social, religious and institutional actors who are usually little visible and scarcely recognised in hospital policies.
The research findings will be disseminated through the publication of reports and scientific articles, as well as through training activities co-designed with the hospital institutions involved and/or using participatory methodologies as far as possible. The project’s final seminar will also offer an opportunity for scientific discussion between the members of the research group and scholars who, from different disciplinary perspectives, have explored this topic in the Italian context or in international contexts.
Research team
Scientific coordinator
Prof. M.Khalid Brandalise Rhazzali
Research fellow
Dr. Scarabello Serena
Affiliated researcher
Dr. Valentina Schiavinato
