ABSTRACT
Introduction This chapter is in four parts. In the first part, it outlines the strong resonance of the secularisation thesis in post-war Italy and contrasts two views of its relevance to the new party system. It then puts these views in context by outlining the changed religious face of Italy in the 1990s, highlighting different dimensions of secularisation. It then considers the religious identity of Italy’s new political parties especially in terms of their electorates. Finally, in examining the debate about the impact of religion on electoral behaviour in the 1990s it identifies the need to specify the impact of different dimensions of ‘religion’.
