ABSTRACT
The history of religious education in Italy begins with the Casati Law of 1859, which allowed the teaching of Catholic religion in primary schools. Later, the Gentile Reform of 1923 gave religious education an important place. Even so, it was in the Lateran Concordat, part of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, according to which the papacy recognized the state of Italy, with Rome as its capital; Italy, in return, recognized papal sovereignty over Vatican City. Under the 1984 amendment of this pact, Catholic religious education takes its characteristic form and substance. After the 1984 Revision Agreement and based on Article 8.3 of the Constitution, the Republic of Italy concluded agreements for religious education with other religious denominations whose pedagogical models are centred on and inspired by the earlier Catholic experience.
