Nineteen runners, including five from Switzerland and four from Italy, meet at the Italian border and are greeted by the Chief of the Border Police, the mayors of three nearby cities and the president of the Gran San Bernardo tourist bureau.
he Italian government has pursued a relatively tolerant and even “enlightened” approach to religious minorities in recent years. Recent decisions by the Italian Supreme Court recognising Scientology as a religion and a subsequent favourable decree by the Italian Ministry of Finance are of particular importance in understanding recent developments in Italy towards greater religious pluralism.
In October 1997, the Supreme Court annulled a 1996 ruling by the Milan Court of Appeal because it found the court’s definition of religion to be too narrowly based, grounded solely “on the paradigm of Biblical religions.” The Court noted that most scholars use a definition of religion which includes Scientology, whose aim was described as “the liberation of the human spirit through the knowledge of the divine spirit residing within each human being.”
The 48-page decision also examined and rejected a number of claims made against Scientology, as well as certain other new religions, by comparing them with the practices of established Christian denominations. For example, the Court drew a parallel between the fund-raising methods of the Church of Scientology and the sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church, noting that until recently Italian Catholic Churches used to affix at the church’s door “a list of services offered [Masses and similar] with the corresponding costs.”
| Previous | Glossary | Contents | Next |
| Your View | Related Sites | Bookstore | Home Page |
© 1999-2004 Church of Scientology International. All Rights Reserved.
For Trademark Information on Scientology Services.
