SUMMARY

1. The centrality of the environmental question in the reflections of religious confessions - 2. The importance of intra-religious and inter-religious dialogue in the global ecological challenge - 2.1 Religions and the environment: common and fertile ground for dialogue, also open to non-believers - 2.2 Safeguarding the created as an engine of ecumenism. The Days for the Protection of Creation - 3. Towards a concrete assumption of responsibility by the Church in matters of environmental protection. The evolution of Catholic magisterial reflection and the commitment of the Dioceses - 4. The participation of religious bodies in the construction of a mature "environmental democracy" - 5. Environment and religions in the Italian legal system: towards new forms of legal protection of creation against the backdrop of a religiously inspired environmental association 5.1 Religious bodies and right of access to environmental information - 5.2 Religious bodies and judicial protection of widespread interests in environmental matters. The possible solutions for the recognition of their active procedural legitimacy.