"Knowing Religion" is the degree scroll of the "II International Symposium on Christian Faith and Contemporary Culture", which was held at the University of Navarra on May 15-16. The Italian Massimo Introvigne, director of Cesnur (Center for programs of study on New Religions), participated in the meeting, organized by the Institute of Anthropology and Ethics of the University of Navarra. "The rebirth of a religiosity without Church" was the topic that Introvigne dealt with during the symposium.

- What is considered "religiosity without Church"?

- The English sociologist Grace Davie introduced the term "believing without belonging," which derives from the realization that the issue of believers is much higher than those who recognize themselves as members of a church, let alone practicing. It is a concept that comes to mean "believer who does not belong".

- And is this "religiosity without Church" possible?

- Yes, although it is naturally weak: it does not have much possibility of influencing culture and social life.

- Do many people practice it?

- In Italy, 90% of the population claims to believe in a higher power or in an afterlife, but only 38% of the population is fully integrated in the Catholic Church or another religion and is practicing. Therefore, half of the Italians could be considered "religious without Church". However, the issue of "non-believing believers" is higher in Great Britain or France. On the other hand, some sociologists note the existence of the opposite phenomenon: "belonging without believing" in countries such as Poland or Russia where, at the time of communism, dependence on the Catholic or Orthodox Church was a political claim or protest, free of any subject of doctrinal belief.

- Could this way of looking at religion be an attempt by people to convince themselves that they are believers?

- Certainly, because belief without internship is undemanding. Identification with a Church forces one to choose between obedience to a certain morality or to feel guilty in case of non-compliance. The "non-internship believer" chooses what he/she likes the most from each religion because it is more comfortable. Many Italians included in this group do not want to abide by the rules of the Catholic Church in order not to accept the imposition of a morality in the sexual field.

- Can a person who claims to believe, but does not practice, be easy prey for a cult?

- Yes, because, normally, the new religious movements (a more respectful and precise expression, which I prefer to the word "sect") do not usually influence practicing Catholics or people who belong to other religions. It is easier to "fish" for followers in the "religious far west" of non-practicing believers. But it is also necessary to say that the phenomenon of new religious movements is overrated: in the EU less than 2% of the population belongs to "sects".

- Do cults have a positive side?

- Behind this label hide different realities that are not of the same subject. Some sects (few) are criminal organizations. Others (the majority) are expressions of a rather confused search for a religion. And, in a small percentage, it can be said that with some it would be possible to open a dialogue on the cultural level and on social and moral values.