Between the Church and the State: Catholic and European Influences on Abortion Governance in Italy and Beyond
Supranational cultural institutions and communities play an interesting role in the development of abortion policy both historically and today. In this article we consider two such institutions: the Catholic Church and the European community. The church is famously antiabortion, and we describe the...
| Authors: | ; |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2024
|
| In: |
Journal of religion in Europe
Year: 2024, Volume: 17, Issue: 3, Pages: 262-292 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Italy
/ Europe
/ Latin America
/ Abortion
/ Governance
/ Holy See (motif)
/ Secularism
/ History 1978-2023
|
| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy CG Christianity and Politics CH Christianity and Society KBA Western Europe KBJ Italy KBK Europe (East) KBR Latin America KDB Roman Catholic Church NCD Political ethics SA Church law; state-church law TK Recent history ZC Politics in general |
| Further subjects: | B
European Union
B abortion governance B Italy B Catholicism B religion in politics B Latin America |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Supranational cultural institutions and communities play an interesting role in the development of abortion policy both historically and today. In this article we consider two such institutions: the Catholic Church and the European community. The church is famously antiabortion, and we describe the ways in which the Catholic position manifests itself in different countries. Conversely, almost all European countries have liberal laws that allow abortion on demand for twelve weeks of pregnancy. Italy sits at the intersection of European and Catholic identities. Italy adopted European-style liberal abortion laws early, but Italians continue to identify with the church in surveys, which is one of the causes of high levels of conscientious objection by medical professionals. Italy’s abortion policy pleases neither Catholics nor secularists. We explain this by understanding Italy’s abortion law as liberal de jure, but its culture is still heavily influenced by Catholicism, resulting in limited abortion access de facto. |
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| ISSN: | 1874-8929 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion in Europe
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/18748929-bja10107 |
