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

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