Multiculturalismo religiosamente caratterizzato e diritti fondamentali: la necessità di un "codice comune e condiviso"

The relationship between religion and multiculturalism is complex, depending on definitions of the key concepts and the societal contexts in which it occurs. In Western Europe discussions of multiculturalism usually involve religion: in fact, issues of religious diversity, pluralism, and multiculturalism are deeply intertwined in our history, culture, and legal arrangements. Thus the two spheres of social regulation, law and religion, each tend to expand their claims. The old solution of an alliance between an organised religion and a law is not available in the multicultural society. All fields of human activity are affected, but there are some in which the tensions are especially visible. Some of these are those affected by questions concerning: the integrity and autonomy of religious worship and ceremony; the enforcement of religious rules of conduct (such as dietary rules, rules on animal slaughter, and dress rules); the regulation of family relations (including the formation of marriage, marital relations, divorce, parent-child relations, and property inheritance); the regulation of education; and the provision of gender equality. In recent times the relationship of separate, largely autonomous normative orders has been radically changed, and tensions between law and religion have grown. The principal forces for change have been those of globalisation, especially the increase in long-distance mobility. There has been an upsurge of international, and especially inter-continental migration. This has resulted in an increase in the degree and visibility of cultural diversity in many societies. Virtually all states have always been multicultural, but today many are far more multicultural than they were. In the multicultural society there is no religious homogeneity, and the possibility of an alliance between state and religion, or accommodation between state law and religious normative orders, is reduced. There may be a strong desire for social continuity, on the part of both hosts and immigrants, who see this as providing security. But this desire is not easy to satisfy today. Moreover, there are trends in both the modern state and in religion which urge change, often in incompatible ways, and these contribute to the tensions between law and religion. Maybe the solution could be the creation of a common “code”.