L'identità dei ceti popolari tra appartenenza religiosa e appartenenza territoriale

[Autom. eng. transl.] In the chapter the sense of belonging of the new popular classes is investigated both towards the territory and in the religious sphere. With reference to the religious sphere, the overall context is what has seen, in recent decades, a progressive secularization, but accompanied, in more recent years, by interesting and heterogeneous forms of religious revival, which have also given rise to new forms of experience in this field. Moreover, in the face of the uncertainty that, at various levels - political, cultural, ideological and so on - characterizes our age, it would be reasonable to expect that many people, especially those with a reduced cultural capital, would be encouraged to search precisely in the religion a sort of refuge as well as the answer to the questions of meaning raised by the uncertainties of everyday life. However, this hypothesis, which also finds some evidence at national level, in the territorial context under investigation is substantially denied: in fact, overall, the new popular classes of the province of Siena appear rather cold compared to the religious sphere, when not completely detached From it. With reference to territorial belonging, on the other hand, the Italian context is that of a space that is in many ways profoundly diversified: for example in terms of economic vivacity and, consequently, of opportunities offered to individuals. The territory, as underlined in the chapter, can be an opportunity and a resource, but also an unbeatable constraint. This is all the more true for those belonging to the new popular classes, for whom territorial mobility today appears to be an option that is not always feasible. In a framework so defined, the new popular classes of the province of Siena declare that they recognize themselves in a particular way with their Municipality of residence - but also with Italy - and express a substantially positive judgment towards the territory in which they live: for the most of the interviewees, the province of Siena is a place where people live better than anywhere else; better than in other Italian regions but even better than in the rest of Tuscany.