Psicologia e religione in Italia, oggi / Psychology and religion in Italy, today

Psychology has been present in Italy since the beginning of the 1900’s, with a growing expansion during the post-World War II period following the creation of several university faculties, degree courses, and schools of specialization. At the same time there has been an increased interest not only in the various forms of psychotherapy (psychoanalytical, behavioral, relational-systemic, anthropo-existential, etc.), but also in research into and the study of the psychological aspects relative to many areas of individual and social life: family, school, work, sport, and so on. Among these, religion surely could not be excluded, on account of the importance that many scientists attach to the religious dimension of personality and in view of the visible presence of religion in Italy, above all the Catholic religion. Encouragement has also been derived from the fact that the 2 nd Vatican Council (1961-65) laid special emphasis on the value of science (Constitution on the Church and the World: Gaudium et Spes, Nos. 36, 57) and particularly of psychology (Decree Optatam totìus, Nos. 11, 22, 63; etc.). Moreover, during the last decades there has been an increase in intercultural and inter-religious problems mainly due to the considerable influx of Islamic immigrants, and this has led to a corresponding increase in the study of the psychological aspects of these problems.