Table of contents

1. Foreword. The reasons for the title of the paper - 2. The meaning of the expressions used in the political and cultural debate regarding the secularity of institutions - 3. The foundations of secular thought. Democracy and pluralism as guarantees of secularism - 4. Secularity of institutions and constitutional principles on the relations between the Italian State and the Catholic Church. The Constitutional Court sentence no. 203 of 1989 - 5. The guarantees of the rights of individuals and social groups in the first years after the coming into force of the Republican Constitution - 6. The current state of rights and freedoms in religious matters. Practical problems of secularism in Italy today - 7. Conclusions