Muslim families in Italy: the transmission of religion between continuity and transformation

This chapter offers an overview of the workings of religious socialisation within Muslim migrant families in Italy, both from the perspective of the first generation (the parents) and from the standpoint of the second generation (the children). Drawing from more than 80 interviews with parents and young adult descendants of Muslim immigrant families composed of two generations living in Italy collected in two Italian cities –Milan and Turin– and their respective hinterlands, this piece provides a sociological examination of the process of intergenerational transmission of religious values, evaluating the extent to which, within Muslim communities, the parents’ lived religion and religious identity is maintained by their children. First, we will evaluate the conditions and the premises for the religious socialisation process among migrant families in general and specifically for Muslim families, reviewing the main findings and theories developed around these issues. Secondly, we will describe the specific features of the Italian context, analysing the level of inclusion of the Muslim minority in Italy and assessing the extent to which it may influence both the and the second-generation’s experience of religion. We will then turn to the point of view of parents concerning the task of “handing down faith” in such a context, which we will subsequently compare with children’s words about how they experience the transmission of religion within their own families. In discussing the religious divide emerging between parents and children in these Muslim families, we highlight how family-related and context-related socio-cultural dynamics define three possible outcomes of religious socialization.