ABSTRACT
In the first part of this chapter attention is focused on the historical and political matrices that have shaped the Italian constitutional model of law and religions relations. This helps to analyse some hallmarks of cultural-religious disputes, which, in turn, provides more insights into the understanding of the place and the role of religion in Italy and, hence, the legal difference between the Roman Church and denominations other than Catholicism. In this way, we will be able to better assess the impact of relatively recent phenomena, like immigration and glocalization, which have contributed to changing the religious landscape of the current Italian constitutional democracy, where Islam and Muslims have become central elements of political and legal concern.
