Multi-faith spaces in multicultural societies: silence and quiet rooms.

Current trials for sustainable spirituality

Main DiReSoM Researcher:

Dr. Giuseppina Scala

giuseppina.scala@cisp.unipi.it

Post-doc Fellow

Interdisciplinary Centre “Sciences for Peace” (CISP-Centro Interdisciplinare Scienze per la Pace), University of Pisa

Society is becoming increasingly multicultural, multiethnic, and complex, and as a result, it is characterized by a growing religious diversity. This religious pluralism, and the specific needs of the faithful, cannot be treated as afterthoughts. Quite the opposite, these needs are an integral part of social life. In this scenario, the introduction of multi-faith rooms in both public and private spaces offers one solution for accommodating multiple faiths, while taking into consideration their different and specific demands. These rooms can be conceived as innovative measures in line with the principle of spiritual sustainability.

Within this research framework, Dr. Scala will investigate the integration of minority religious groups through these rooms both in key urban spaces such as hospitals, jails, workplaces, universities, and in the so-called “non spaces”, that is, airports, train stations, shopping centers and service areas. She has so far devoted a special attention to Italian universities, addressing the gap in the scientific literature on the matter. Indeed, she has published an article discussing the main challenges universities face in managing these unique multi-faith rooms, which are available to students, faculty, and administrative staff: [click here]. On 29^th October 2024, she presented the results of her research on the topic at the Mazza student college in Padova, during a meeting chaired by the President of DiReSom, prof. Pierluigi Consorti, and sponsored by CISP, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Peace Studies of the University of Pisa [click here].

Thanks to her international background, she will also conduct comparative research with other European legal systems that are more familiar with the challenges of multiethnic environments, such as the UK or Scandinavian countries.