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FENN, Richard K., org. The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion. Oxford: Blackwell, 2006, 292-305.

CHAPTER 16

Religion as Diffusion of Values. "Diffused Religion" in the Context of a Dominant Religious Institution: The Italian Case
Roberto Cipriani

Introduction
There has been m uch discussion concerning possible definitions of religion. Gen erally a distinction is made between a substantive and a functional approach. The substantive approach may be exemplified by Durkheim (1995) when he speaks of beliefs and practices as the ground of the moral comm unity called a church. Luckmann (1967) is said to demonstrate the functional approach when he refers to symbolic universes as socially objectified systems of m eaning by way of social processes considered as fundamentally religious, which lead to the formation of the Ego and the transcendence of biological nature. However, when we make a thorough exploration of Durkheims and Luckmanns writings, we observe that Durkheim is also alive to function (reli gion helps solidarity), and that Luckmann is not concerned only with function (religion is a conception of the world made up of specific contents). Thus in reality those quoted as exemplary champions of one or the other perspective emerge as more open to less rigid, more polyvalent formulations. In short, content and function are inseparable, and should be considered as a unique whole which permits the realization of m uch more complex and interconnected analytical and interpretative procedures. For example, we m ight start from the idea that the metaempirical referent in attributing meaning to hum an existence is a particular characteristic of reli gion. At the same time, however, it is sensible to leave an opening for responses that do not envisage an explicit referral to the dimension of the empirical non verifiability and the inaccessibility of direct experience. Thus, a metaempirical referent would possess a merely indicative character, or, in Blumers (1954) term that of sensitizing.

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In this way there is no conflict between th e tran scen d en t level an d th a t of the real. It is ra th e r as th o u g h we were to look at th e sam e object from two different view points; th e canalizing of a n o n -h u m a n presence w ithin reality. One vision does not exclude the other. They are not in opposition an d indeed at times they m ay con verge on the same conclusion - the u nderstanding-explanation of life in a religious key. (Cipriani 1 9 9 7 a:1 5 )

From Diffused Religion to Religion of Values


Certainly, the presence of values is a constant both in the historic religions, more deeply rooted at the cultural level, and in the new religious movements still in a phase of growth and recomposition. These values represent idealistic motives, key concepts, basic ideas, parameters of reference, and ideological inclinations which watch over the personal and interpersonal actions of individuals and make them reasonable, socially relevant, and sociologically classifiable. Every religious experience involves dedication to a cause or an ideal, with socioindividual involvement, which is more or less marked according to the indi viduals intentions, utility (also in rational choice terms), life history, opportu nities offered, encounters, and the challenges faced. To say one belongs to a particular religion means essentially to share its general principles, basic choices, and ritual procedures. The latter allow membership to become visible, permit encounters with coreligionists, legitimate executive roles (real, not merely sym bolic, power), reinforce belonging, and deepen value-based motivations. In other words, every performance of a ritual has multiple functions, but above all focuses the total values promoted and diffused by a particular religion through its members: the more these participate, the more they become con vinced their choice was correct. The latter effect is so portentous that it remains in a weakened condition even without further continuing participation. Thus, the experience of religious prac tice (and belief) forms of its own accord an ideal, value-laden habitus which tends to persist far beyond visible religiosity. Indeed, those who no longer prac tice religion and m ay be ever less believers retain a kind of imprinting which cannot easily be erased, and which presents them as disaffected members with continuing meaningful links to the former reference group. Undoubtedly m uch is owed to prim ary (essentially family) socialization rather than to secondary (school and friendship within peer groups) socialization. The Berger and Luckmann (1966) teaching in this regard remains authoritative: in fact, the social construction of reality is the basis from which the value system branches out, a circuitry that directs social action and rests on an objectified and historicized worldview, which is thus endowed with a religious character that is hard to lose. The ultimate meaning of life itself is clearly written therein and ori entates attitudes and behaviors. However, it m ay now be more convenient to aim at disarticulating religious phenomenology from within, following a reading with more stratified dynamics

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and multiple facets. This is an alternative to distinguishing to the utmost between traditional religiosity, linked to church structures and quite visible in its forms, on the one hand, and a more individualized, privatized, and thus less visible religiosity, on the other. In practice it is not clear that there is only church religion and invisible religion a la Luckmann (1967). Rather, we m ay propose another hypothetical solution which envisages intermediate categories to the two extremes, defined in terms of visibility and invisibility. An initial post-Luckmann interpretation was articulated in 1983 and applied to the Italian situation during the International Conference of Sociology of Reli gion (held at Bedford College, London):
besides the interests an d pressures com ing from ecclesiastical sources, are there any other premises or factors w hich ca n explain religious bearing on Italian poli tics? In particular, it is im po rtan t to verify first of all h ow the institution fares under the pressure of a n extended religious field co ntaining varied an d attractive options, including anti-institutional purposes. Secondly, we m ust ask ourselves w hether in practice religious influence in political choices concerns only Catholi cism (or Christianity) or any religious expression in general. Thirdly, we m u st see w hether the c o u n try s history or its n atio n al culture m ark the existence of fixed elements, bearing com m on values leading (directly or indirectly, in specific or vague ways) to a w idespread model of religious socialization (based prevalently on patterns of Catholic reference). (Cipriani 19 84 :3 2)

The starting point was thus represented by the influence of Catholic religion on politics in Italy. This was a fortuitous indicator that showed itself to be very illuminating, because it became increasingly possible to show that such influ ence involved, and involves, circles m uch wider than politics. Indeed, after nearly 20 years it can be asserted that the weight of religion in m atters regarding deci sions of a party and government nature has been reduced, but remains quite solid as regards society in general. Meanwhile the anti-institutional spirit has lessened, given that the Catholic Church is the institution least contested by Italian citizens, who moreover assign it a noteworthy portion of their taxes (0.8% of taxable income). While the preponderant influence of official Catholicism has waned, other religious confessions have not replaced it. Only Judaism has managed on a few special occasions to have its celebrations and customs recognized. The ability of Muslims, Jehovahs Witnesses, and others to gain a hearing at a political level is negligible. On the other hand, the connection between Catholic religious values and values diffused in the social environment has been amply demonstrated. In m any instances the two are superimposed, if not wholly identical. In fact, having started from the concept of diffused religion referring mainly to links with the political dimension, we then arrived at a conception of religion in Italy as a web of value elements directly derived from the baggage of Catholic socialization. Before going further, however, I should clarify what we originally intended to investigate in our research.

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The leading concept, in this research, is th a t of diffused religion. The term dif fused is to be understood in a t least a double sense. First of all, it is diffused in th a t it comprises vast sections of the Italian population an d goes beyond the simple limits of c h u rc h religion; sometimes in fact it is in open co ntrast w ith c h u rc h reli gion on religious m otivation (cf. the in tern al dissension w ithin Catholicism on occasion of the referendum on divorce an d abortion). Besides, it h as become w ide spread, since it h as been show n to be a historical a n d cu ltural result of the almost bi-millennial presence of the Catholic institution in Italy an d of its socializing and legitimizing action. The premises for the present diffused religion have been laid dow n in the course of centuries. In reality, it is both diffused in an d diffused by. As a final outcome, it is also diffused for; given th a t - ap a rt from th e intents of socalled c h u rc h religion - we ca n rem a rk th e spread of other creeds (the easy proselytism of other Christian churches, of the Jehovahs W itnesses, of sects of oriental origin etc . . .), as well as the trend tow ards ethical a n d /o r political choices (an eventual conflict - far from disproving this hypothesis - confirms, from the outset, the existence of a religious basis, be it w eak or latent). In brief terms, it is licit to think of religion as being diffused th ro u g h the acceptance of other indi vidual or group religious experience, an d also because it represents a param eter w hich ca n be referred to w ith regard to m oral a n d /o r political choices. (Cipriani 19 84 :3 2 )

First of all, it is still valid to claim that diffused religion concerns broad strata of the Italian population. More than one study has established this conviction over time, and it has been enriched gradually, without distortion, by new varia tions on the theme. In itself church religion should also be basic to the origin of diffused religion itself. However, for reasons of exposition and to avoid m isun derstandings, it is preferable to regard it as a category by itself, to be decon structed, if required, on the basis of attitudinal and behavioral differences of the subjects interviewed (usually grouped together according to stratification derived from cluster analysis). Moreover, as regards diffused religions diversifi cation as compared to institutional Catholic religion, this should be stressed from a sociological point of view so as to determine the differences between orthodox and heterodox modes in relation to the official Catholic model. However, the most relevant aspect is still the strong historico-geographical and thus cultural - rootedness of the religion most practiced in Italy. It is pre cisely the strength of tradition, the practice of habit, the family and community involvement, which make membership of the prevalent religion compelling and almost insurmountable. Where socialization does not arrive within the family home, pastoral and evangelizing activity carried out in a systematic way in the area by priests and their lay parish workers moves in. In fact, Catholicism is dif fused in every part of the country by means of a church structure well-equipped over time and particularly able to draw on its effective know-how. These characteristics of diffused religion make it a nonautocratic experience, open to other options, careless of the theologicodoctrinal boundaries between manifold confessional memberships. The subjects of diffused religion are little inclined to join battle in the nam e of their ideal referents, and they do not contest others over viewpoints that cannot always be shared. The best proof of this is

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provided by the easy proselytism effected by other religious groups and move ments that have arrived in Italy, particularly the Christian ones, though not only these. Another piece of evidence can be found in ethical and, especially in the past, political inclinations.
W h at diffused religion consists of can be understood even by m ean s of its pecu liarities. In a broad sense, its presence is clearly visible in forms w hich are not as evident as ch u rc h religion, b u t w hich are no t totally invalidated. This visibility m ay appear som ehow interm ittent. (Cipriani 19 84 :3 2 )

Thus diffused religion also runs the risk of being classified as an invisible reli gion sui generis, though in reality it manifests that peculiarity of partly relating to church religion by way of participation in liturgical practices and religious rites, and partly to a semimembership or even nonmembership (in its most peripheral forms, almost bordering on total absence of socioreligious indicators).
It is easy to presum e th a t the w idespread model of diffused religion is different from th a t of its source of origin, th a t is, this w idespread religious dim ension ends up by differing from th e system it derives from (the institution). In this way, however, it reaches degrees of freedom w hich the concentrated a n d centralized p attern of c h u rc h religion w ould not favor. (Cipriani 1984 :32 )

We might even speak of diffused religion as a perverse effect of the dominant religious system, which thus generates what is different from itself, even though in continuity with it. The greater freedom in putting ourselves outside the church permits spaces for action otherwise prohibited. In short, there is no clear opposition, nor yet a clear link of diffused religion to church religion.
The fragm entation of the areas of diffusion an d distribution cannot, however, cover all existing spheres; all aspects are not equally w idespread a n d rea ch vague, undefined limits w hich empirically are difficult to define. This diffusiveness broad ens foreseeably into complex an d multiple options (especially political options: from extrem e right to extrem e left). M eanwhile, original religious co ntents dim in ish an d lose their intensity, they disperse, they mingle, they are integrated in new syntheses. Consequently, this expansion also causes a certain lack of positive reac tions w ith respect to the center of propulsion, either because of increased sepa rateness or because of a w eakening of the basic ideological nucleus. It is th u s a passive religion w hich m ay become active again in specific circum stances. R ather th a n the dynam ics of accelerated religious transform ation, this provokes a certain stagnation. Even w ith in the prevailing passivity, the underlying echo rem ains persistent an d pervasive, it penetrates large groups of persons. At this stage diffused religion appears ra th e r u nd er false pretenses: as a feeling, a sensation w hich co n tam in ate s both th e religious an d political fields. Thus reemerges the link w ith processes of socialization. It rem ains, however, to be seen if the future generations will m a in ta in such a religious form w hich becomes m ore an d m ore socially diluted to the extent of losing all influence on politics. (Cipriani 1 9 8 4 :3 2 -3 )

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Despite its pervasion, diffused religion is not present in every case and every context. Indeed, it cannot easily be catalogued using homogeneous indicators. Usually, cluster analysis outlines three levels of diffused religion: the first seems closest to church religion, the second departs partially from it, and the third is situated on the margins of the continuum between church religion and diffused religion. If we look particularly at political placement, the whole ideological party spectrum has its followers distributed among the three large areas of dif fused religion. The members of these classes of diffused religion prefer solutions running from the right to the extreme left, thus excluding the extreme right, as is shown by a study carried out in Rome in 1 994-5 (Cipriani 1997b). At the level of values, the area of strictly religious ones seems to be narrowing, but there is an increase in the area of lay principles - lay but vaguely inspired by, or capable of drawing inspiration from, orthodox religious models. It thus seems that diffused religion is destined to remain inert, at the mercy of other confes sions, though its greatest attraction lies in relation to ongoing socialization. The problem of change within diffused religion was posed some years ago. In fact:
even for someone w ho has always kept his sociological interest in c u rre n t events alive, it is not easy to disentangle the guiding threads of the social, political, and religious dynam ics w hich have characterized Italy in th e last two decades. The fact is th a t one finds oneself in the p resent situation alm ost naturally, as th o u g h it h ad been expected, w itho ut even letting questions, doubts, or scientific curiosity about w h at h as been happening to m ore th a n 50 million citizens, from the m id-1960s to the threshold of th e 1990s, break the surface. (Cipriani 1 98 9 :2 4 )

The fact is that while the contents of diffused religion change almost impercep tibly, the sociological approach also mutates, hones its instruments of empirical research, digs deeper into reality and searches for verifications and falsifications of its guiding hypotheses. Until the end of the 1980s, there were no scientific results available provid ing adequate reliability as products of serious, thorough representative studies at that statistical level in relation to the whole of Italy. It was thus in the wake of the questions raised by theorizing about diffused religion that a fruitful season of field research began - from the Sicilian study on the religion of values (Cipriani 1992) to the major national research on religiosity in Italy (Cesareo et al. 1995) and the most recent one, on an international level and with a com parison between Europe and the United States on religious and moral plural ism, is still awaiting publication. Especially during the last decade, it has been argued that relations between the Catholic Church and the Italian state, though they have not wholly disappeared as a strategic point for examining the interinstitutional political-religious link based on citizens interest in problems of a legislative kind, are no longer a key test of the ability of the dom inant religion to influence Italian political affairs. For the past, consider the diatribes of the 1970s and 1980s on divorce and abortion,

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which are not comparable to the current one on financing Catholic schools. Once the major questions on the diplomatic level had been regulated solemnly on February 18, 1984 and by law on 20 May, 1985, which renewed the Concordat of 1929 between the Italian state and the Vatican hierarchy, the so-called Catholic question seems to have lost its bite and its interest. The movement defined as Catholic contestation has also long ago shipped its oars and seems now reduced to a sporadic attempt at dissent as regards the Establishment - unless the Holy Year of 2000 provides new possibilities for a recovery of a critical kind, taking its lead from the jubilee program. To some extent it is diffused religion itself that also represents a kind of functional substitute for divergence from the eccle siastical structure. This differentiation appears through other ways of believing and practicing, even though the real base remains Catholic, thanks to primary socialization in the initial phases of life. It should thus be stressed that:
diffused religion refers to th e characteristic conduct of believers w ho have received at least a Catholic education an d w ho relate to it in a general sense. In fact, it refers to citizens w ho appear to be less th a n completely obedient to the direc tives of the Catholic hierarchy b u t who, on the other hand, refuse to reject com pletely certain basic principles w hich form p a rt of th e set of values prom oted by Catholicism. (Cipriani 1 98 9 :2 8 )

The essential core of diffused religion is to be found precisely in those sets of values that are the basis for the sharing of outlook and practices that bring together Catholics and non-Catholics, believers and nonbelievers, on the same terrain of social action. In fact, through this cultural mediation of shared values, there runs a large part of decisions for enactm ent by social subjects. The ecclesiastical Establishment stays in the background, intervening in a mediated way, thanks to its prior socializing activity. There is no longer, if there ever was, a close adherence to orthodoxy and orthopractice as taught by the Catholic Church, although the essential param eter remains Catholicism as the ideology determining perspective. It is precisely this which permits collaboration between the Italian state and the Catholic Church without major disturbance and indeed with a formal, legitimated agreement which has now lasted over 70 years. As Calvaruso and Abbruzzese emphasize,
diffused religiosity th e n becomes the d om in an t religious dim ension for all those who, im m ersed in the secular reality of contem porary society, th o u g h not m a n aging to accept these dim ensions of the sacred cosmos w hich are m ore rem ote and provocative com pared w ith the ratio nal vision of the world, do no t thereby aban do n their need for m eaningfulness. In the im m an e n t dim ension of individual everyday existence, diffused religiosity, ra th e r th a n bearing witness to th e presence of a process of laicization in a religiously oriented society, seems to en h a n ce the perm anence of the sacred in the secularized society. (19 85 :7 9)

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Thus diffused religion appears as an antidote to the process of secularization of which it is, at the same time, an expression which is meaningful as a distancing from church religion. In fact
diffused religiosity is located in a n interm ediate area between a secular society in crisis an d a resum ption of the ecclesiastical adm inistration of the sacred. It rem ains too lay to accept th e m ore specific elem ents of ch u rc h doctrine an d too m u c h in need of m eaning to survive in a n epoch w hich is w ith o u t God and w ith o u t p rophets. (Calvaruso an d Abbruzzese 19 85 :8 0 )

In particular,
the variables in diffused religion are, by contrast, m ore changeable according to the syntheses w hich it produces from time to time. They are achieved on levels determ ined by the dialectic between the basic values of prim ary an d secondary legitimation an d th e different ones w hich appear on th e horizon in the long confrontation w ith other ideological perspectives. The n e w value is in tern al ized bu t alm ost never taken up in a wholly pure form or according to a form ula th a t could totally replace the previous perspective. The new way of seeing reality, the different Weltanschauung, is, however, th e result of the collision-encounter betw een w h at already exists an d w h at is still in th e process of becoming. (Cipriani 19 89 :2 9 )

Diffused religion is thus quite dynamic as regards its development, despite the constancy of the chief frame of reference. However, diffused religion lacks the kind of clear-cut characteristics which would be visible in, for example, church attendance, but it works through long-range conditioning, which is due, above all, to mass religious socialization, and to which there is a corresponding kind of mass loyalty of a new type (Cipriani 1989:46). We can discover these links between the social and the religious, between implementation in the every day and the context of origin by way of certain value indicators. A particular example of this is provided by
a piece of em pirical research conducted in Sicily by m eans of questioning a group of people selected by statistical sampling. The results were compiled from the com pleted questionnaires of 719 subjects, an d th e objective was to illum inate the concept of diffused religion as observed in the presence of com m on social values w hich tend to unify behavior an d attitude deriving from both th e religious an d lay perspectives. Cluster analysis w as used to identify six different groupings: religious (church) acritical; religious (church) critical; religious (diverging from the church) critical; religious (diffused) as a condition; religious (critical an d distancing self from the church); an d not religious. T he starting point for the research is the hypothesis th a t Catholicism (as the dom in an t religion) pervades m any sectors of social life an d m aintains its influence over com m on values, despite the effect of increased distance betw een people an d institutionalized religion. This appears to refute the theory of secularization. (Cipriani 1 99 3 :9 1 )

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Table 16.1 Groupings

Numbers in each grouping

Religious (church) acritical Religious (church) critical Religious (diverging from the church) critical Religious (diffused) as a condition Religious (distancing self from church) critical Nonreligious Total
Source: Cipriani 1992.

101 261 79 190 47 41

(14.0%) (36.3%) (11.0%) (26.4%) (6.5%) (5.8%)

719 (100%)

Table 16.1 shows the general data from the study. On the basis of these results, we have argued that the religion of values embraces the central categories of table 16.1. In particular the area that can be ascribed to the religion of values runs from the category defined as religious (church) critical to that described as religious (distancing self from church) critical, and thus includes both a part of church religion (the less indulgent part) and the whole gamut of diffused religion, along with all forms of critical religion. Thus the framework of noninstitutional religion appears m uch broader, being based on shared values which are represented essentially by choices acted upon (to a m aximum of four responses) by those interviewed in terms of guiding principles of their life, commencing with education received up to the age of 18. As can easily be deduced from table 16.2, reflecting different value elements, it is reasonable to m aintain that we are faced not only with a religion based on values largely shared, since they have been diffused chiefly through prim ary and, later, secondary socialization, but that these very values can be seen in them selves as a kind of religion. This religion has lay, profane, secular threads. In essence, we have gone from a dominant church religion to a majoritarian diffused religion, and then to a religion compounded of values. As we shall attempt to show later, the conclusion is that religion can be defined as a mode of trans mission and diffusion of values; indeed, that it performs especially this functional task and does so efficiently. Thus we resolve the polemic between substantive and functional definitions. In the substantive sense the constituent elements of a religion are the values it teaches and propagates, whilst in the functional sense the task of religion, espe cially when it appears prevalently in a particular historicogeographical frame work, is that of providing key linkage points for community life, social action, and the rational choices to be made in the light of established guidelines, and to be brought to life in everyday life and basic existential choices.

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Table 16.2

Values of respondents

Particularistic values Attachm ent to the family Love of ones children Good use of money Managing by oneself Earning a lot Universal values Honesty, probity Faith in God Respect for others Having a clear conscience Attachm ent to work Friendship, solidarity Being content with little Generosity, charity
Source: Cipriani 1992.

450 232 69 66 32 532 386 213 131 120 105 99 96

(62.6%) (32.3%) (9.6%) (9.2%) (4.5%) (74.0%) (53.7%) (29.6%) (18.2%) (16.7%) (14.6%) (13.8%) (13.4%)

Content and Function of Religion


Our reading of the Italian situation is largely applicable to those social realities where a specific religious confession is conspicuously present and active in the area, with a hegemonic position.
In fact, religion, w hich never really stopped playing its p a rt in society, has reap peared beneath th e surface of secularization. Even if we adm it th a t there h a s been a significant occlusion, this has only involved secondary, ex ternal an d formal aspects, especially at th e level of ritual. The decline in participation at official, pre ordained services h as no t th u s m e an t the end of every resort to th e sacred. The trajectory of religiosity is n o t set tow ards definitive extinction. Simultaneously, secular impulses seem also to have exhausted their impetus. Their efficacy now affects only th e less fun dam ental aspects of belief, w hich tends to rem ain in essence m ore or less stable. Between religiosity an d secularization there seems to reign alm ost a tacit compromise. They are reinforced an d w eaken virtually in unison. Aspects steeped in religion continue (or retu rn ) to m anifest themselves in secular reality, whilst in the reality of the ch u rc h an d of religious culture we see a pro gressive su rren der to dem ands th a t are less orthodox from th e viewpoint of the official model. (Cipriani 1 9 9 4 :2 7 7 )

The case of Rome, described as the Holy City par excellence, even though it is heavily secularized, is emblematic. The world capital of Catholicism, the meetingplace of universal import for millions of pilgrims in the jubilee year, 2000,

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manifests rather low levels of religious practice. That which is described as regular, once a week, stands at 23.3% (Cipriani 1997b), whilst 22.1% never go to mass. Yet the num ber who pray is significant - 71.5% of those interviewed. Some turn to prayer only a few times a year (14.9%) and some m uch more often, like the 32% who do so one or more times every day. This means that there is at once slight attachm ent to practice and a broad interest in prayer, so religion lies not wholly in ritualism. Rather, the most frequent link with divinity runs through prayer, a direct conversation, at the interpersonal level. In this regard we might argue that whereas practice of the festal mass is linked more to church religion, that of recourse to prayer may have a more spontaneous character, free and removed from social control, but nonetheless an index that reveals a belief, a tie, a sensitivity at the religious level. In practice, if Rome is not by any means a city of m any practitioners, neither is it one with m any atheists, agnostics, or religiously indifferent people (however, it should be noted that 21.3 percent of those interviewed - the highest num ber in all the country - show no sign of reli giosity at all). The capital of Italy manifests in a heightened m anner some of the characteristics revealed in the 1 994-5 study on religiosity in Italy through a national sample (Cesareo et al. 1995). For example, in a year a mere 7.6 percent had taken part in pilgrimages and 13.6 percent had made or satisfied a vow. Essentially, the Romans religion is two-sided: on the one hand it appears imbued with a dramatic crisis, on the other it seems quite lively (though at a due dis tance from the habits of the official church). The religious future of the city seems destined to proceed along these two parts, divergent yet parallel. The same m ay be said in general for Italy, though with certain essential dif ferences.
A double religion is the result: a m ajority an d a m inority religion, explicable also in term s of the historic presence of the Catholic ch u rc h in Italy in the past cen tu ry an d especially since the Second World War. The Italian m inority religion is for those w ho identify w ith the c h u rc h quite closely a n d also involve themselves significantly in religious practices. The m ajority religion, on the contrary, lacks these ch a ra c teristics. (Cipriani 1 9 9 4 :2 8 1 )

This majority religion is rooted in the individual conscience, guided by the law of God, according to 40.4 percent of those interviewed in a systematic sample of 4,500 (Cesareo et al. 1995:180): in individual conscience alone in 36% of those sampled, and exclusively in the law of God for 22.1%. On the level of values lived with satisfaction, we find first the family that can be depended upon (73% of the sample), followed by working honestly and with commitment (68%) and having friends (38%). A smaller response was obtained as regards devotion to others (25%) and commitment to changing society (22%). The overall picture is a varied one, but it confirms the image of religiosity dif fused but fractal, tattered, with heterogeneous outlines. According to the results of the cluster analysis, 32% of the sample could be classified as belonging to church religion, 59.1% to diffused or modal religion, and 8.9% to no religion.

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Table 16.3 Groupings 1 2 3 4 5

Attitudinal and behavioral groupings Percentages 9.4 22.6 32.0 16.5 21.6 21.0 59.1 91.1 8.9 100.0

Church-oriented religion (heterodirected) Reflexive church religion (self-directed) Church religion total (1 + 2) Modal prim ary (diffused) religion Modal intermediary (diffused) religion Modal perimetric (diffused) religion Diffused or modal religion total (3 + 4 + 5) Continuing religion total (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5) No religion

Overall total (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6)
Source: Cesareo et al. 1995: 146.

The proportions of Italian religiosity demonstrate the typology shown in table 16.3. As can be seen from the percentage of the six attitudinal and behavioral classes, religion in the broad sense (church or diffused/modal) is largely pre ponderant and clearly almost all of Catholic type. Church religion is in a m inor ity percentage-wise, and diffused religion (called modal, as statistically it is in practice the mode, the characteristic with the greatest frequency) is the major ity. But between minority and majority there is no break. Indeed it is often hard to establish the distinction between one and the other, especially between refle xive church religion (more autonomous and individualized, less inclined to accept the directives of official ecclesiastical teaching), and prim ary diffused or modal religion (more diversified as regards church membership). In fact, church and diffused or modal religion are in close relation with one another, the second arising from the first, whereby one can speak of a genuine religious continuum which involves 91.1 percent of those interviewed, without breaks or interrup tions in the religious argum ent and its content, especially in the field of values. Even more convincing, if that is possible, is what emerges from the more recent (March-April 1999) international comparative study on Europe and the United States on religious and moral pluralism, involving in Italy the universities of Turin, Padua, Trieste, Bologna, and Rome. The Italian sampling was carried out by Doxa and involved 2,149 interviews (1,032 males and 1,117 females from 18 and upwards), carried out in 742 cases in provincial capital cities and in 1,407 cases in noncapital centers: 97.5% said they were Catholic; 31.2% said they were very close to the church and 45.5% close to it; 51.1% remembered that at 12 years old they went to church at least once a week, but 21.7% spoke of more than once a week, and 6.7% of daily participation in religious functions.

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Significant confirmation of satisfaction with religion comes from the judg m ent of whether it was more or less important: 22.2 percent said a little more, and 12.8 percent m uch more. As for the relation between education and religion, a very close link is taken for granted, especially if we bear in mind that 35.9 percent seemed to be m uch influenced by the education they received. It should also be noted that 81.2 percent of those surveyed explicitly owned to belonging to a church, confession, group, or religious community. Finally, 86.4 percent said they used prayer, though with differences both quantitative (once or more) and temporal (daily or during the year). The following characteristics seem definitely established: 1 2 The essential content of religion is values, m uch more than rituals and beliefs. The function of religion appears to be that of diffusing values.

Thus religion can be understood as basically an agent for diffusing values.

Conclusion
The concept of diffused religion has often been employed over the last 15 years to test its heuristic efficacy. Starting from an initial applicability to the Italian case, it is possible to move on to presenting it in other contexts in which the cen trality and size of a specific religious confession are characteristic. However, the most significant result is the demonstration of the centrality of values as the base of every religious expression. Beyond the socializing, consol ing participation in ceremonies and belief or faith in something which in socio logical terms escapes any empirical analysis, it is perhaps values which serve as the master key of the religious system. The Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico (1983:600) was thus correct when about three centuries ago he wrote that religions are the only means by which m en can understand virtuous behavior and practice it.

References
Berger, P.L. an d L uckm ann, T. 196 6. The Social Construction of Reality. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Blumer, H. 195 4. W h at is W rong w ith Social Theory? American Sociological Review 1 9 (1 ):3 -1 0 . Calvaruso, C. an d Abbruzzese, S. 1 9 8 5 . Indagine sui valori in Italia. Dai postmaterialismi alla ricerca di senso [An Inquiry into Values in Italy: From Postmaterialism to the Quest for Meaning]. Turin: SEI.

R E L I G I O N AS D I F F U S I O N OF VAL UE S

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Cesareo, V, Cipriani, R., Garelli, F., Lanzetti, C., an d Rovati, G. 1995. La religiosita in Italia [Religiosity in Italy]. Milan: M ondadori. Cipriani, R. 198 4. Religion a n d Politics. The Italian Case: Diffused Religion, Archives de Sciences Sociales des Religions 5 8 (1 ):2 9 -5 1 . Cipriani, R. 19 89 . Diffused religion an d New Values in Italy, in The Changing Face of Religion, Eds. J.A. Beckford an d T. L uckm ann. London: Sage, pp. 2 4 - 4 8 . Cipriani, R. 1 9 9 2 . La religione dei valori. Indagine nella Sicilia centrale [Religion of Values. A Survey in Central Sicily ]. Caltanissetta-Roma: Sciascia. Cipriani, R. 1 9 9 3 . De la religion diffuse a la religion des valeurs, Social Compass 4 0 (1 ):9 1 -1 0 0 . Cipriani, R. 19 9 4 . Religiosity, Religious Secularism a n d Secular Religions, International Social Science Journal 1 4 0 (Ju n e ):2 7 7 -8 4 . Cipriani, R. 1 9 9 7 a. Manuale di sociologia della religione [Handbook of Sociology of Religion]. Rome: Borla. Cipriani, R. 1997b. La religiosita a Roma [Religiosity in Rome]. Rome: Bulzoni. Durkheim, E. 199 5. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York: Free Press. L uckm ann, T. 1 9 6 7 . The Invisible Religion. The Transformation of Symbols in Industrial Society . New York: Macmillan. Vico, G. 198 3. Autobiografia. Poesie. Scienza Nuova [Autobiography. Poems. New Science]. Milan: Garzanti.

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