ABSTRACT
As citizens of a global society, it is crucial to reflect on the living reality of multiculturalism. In this chapter, learners will look at multicultural identity from a totally secular perspective, which recognizes the rights of individuals for who they are, and not because they belong to a particular community, be it ethnic, religious, political, etc. The chapter focuses on a few concepts expressed in Cinzia Sciuto’s book Non c’è fede che tenga. Manifesto laico contro il multiculturalismo: secularism and secularization, collective and individual identity, the deception of multiculturalism, the misunderstanding of “respect” and oblivious racism. Sciuto inverts multiculturalism’s order of priority: it is the individual who becomes the bearer of identity and belonging; it is no longer the belonging that defines the individual. Through the analysis of a language that questions the very meaning of multiculturalism, the readers will familiarize themselves with a renewed outlook on contemporary societies.
