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The Ways of Spirituality. The New Imaginaries of the Sacred in Contemporary Italy. This article proposes a synthesis of the results of an ethnographic research aimed at reconstructing the variegated field of contemporary spirituality in the Italian context. Although characterised by a still strong presence of Catholic religious culture, Italy is witnessing the emergence of new forms of spirituality that trace alternative paths in the search for the sacred with respect to the traditional ones. The data collected make it possible to distinguish three main spiritual currents, characterised by peculiar imaginaries related to the themes of nature, well-being and mystery. These themes constitute channels through which the new spiritualities acquire visibility on the public scene, establishing relations, of convergence of convergence, with the broader secular society.

The article focuses on flat earthism, one of the most well-known contemporary conspiracy theories in popular culture. According to proponents of this theory, which has found a growing international following in recent years, political institutions such as the U.S. government and scientific institutions such as NASA would operate to deceive humanity about the real shape of our planet and the universe in which we live. In countering the data acquired by modern science and common sense knowledge, flat earthism stands as a heterodox theory and a radical critique of the authority of socially legitimized epistemic institutions. This article consists of two parts. The first part will offer a genealogical reconstruction of the flat-earth conspiracy, tracing its history from the 19th century to the exponents of the current movement. The second part will delve into the discourse of the proponents of flat earthism with specific reference to the Italian context, through documentary analysis of recent publications and online material available on YouTube and Telegram, which constitute some of the main channels for the discussion and dissemination of flat earthism in Italy today. On the basis of the data collected and analyzed, it will be shown how flat earthism represents a paradigmatic case of superconspiracy, that is, of a far-reaching theory capable of linking and including within itself a set of other, more circumscribed theories. To this end, flat earthism elaborates on a discourse that ambivalently combines two registers, scientific and religious language, proposing itself as a dissident narrative that if on the one hand rejects the knowledge of institutionalized and organized science and religion, on the other hand accredits an alternative and anti-intellectualist path of knowledge, accessible to the “common man” that aims to create a space of autonomy and opposition to the processes of secularization and globalization in which the flat earthers see the project of building a dystopian New World Order.

Spirituality can be a crucial resource to draw on to make sense of critical situations that mark a turning point in individual and collective biographies. In these cases, a ritual and symbolic response to the trauma may occur, bringing to the surface a «latent spirituality», that is, a tacit propensity towards the sacred that manifests itself in unexpected ways, even in those who do not normally believe or practice, in extraordinary situations that engender fear, anomie or disorientation and that have profound existential repercussions. This article aims to investigate the latent spirituality in the face of the critical event represented by the onset of severe disease, based on the analysis of spiritual illness narratives collected in Italy through qualitative interviews with oncological patients. The narratives show how the condition of suffering can bring to light an unexpressed spirituality, consisting of the revitalization of previous traditional faith or the elaboration of an innovative lay spirituality. Data confirm how pathology constitutes a biographical fracture, accompanied by questions and needs of a religious and spiritual nature. In contrast to the prevailing approach in the medical humanities where spirituality is interpreted as a starting resource to which sufferers resort to cope toward the disease, these results indicate that the spiritual dimension is an emerging aspect along the therapeutic pathway and that it is transformed by reflecting the temporality of the biographical experience of illness.

Abstract Allergic and immunologic skin diseases negatively impact the quality of life (QoL) of affected patients with detrimental consequences. Nonetheless, in everyday clinical practice the evaluation of QoL is often overlooked. Considering the increasing prevalence of atopic dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, hereditary angioedema, cutaneous mastocytosis, and urticaria, it is essential to determine the effects of allergic and immunologic skin diseases on QoL. A joint meeting (GET TOGETHER 2021) of the Italian Society of Allergology, Asthma and Clinical Immunology (SIAAIC) and the Italian Society of Allergological, Occupational and Environmental Dermatology (SIDAPA) aimed to summarize the features of the main QoL tools used in these diseases and to describe the extent of QoL impairment as well as the impact of treatments on QoL, particularly biologic therapies. The assessment of QoL in patients with allergic and immunologic skin diseases relies on generic, organ-specific and disease-specific questionnaires. While generic and organ-specific questionnaires allow comparison between different diseases, disease-specific questionnaires are designed and validated for specific cohorts: the QoL Index for Atopic Dermatitis (QoLIAD) and the Childhood Atopic Dermatitis Impact Scale (CADIS) in atopic dermatitis, the ACD-11 in allergic contact dermatitis, the Angioedema QoL Questionnaire (AE-QoL) and the Hereditary Angioedema QoL questionnaire (HAE-QoL) in hereditary angioedema, the Mastocytosis QoL Questionnaires (MCQoL e MQLQ) in cutaneous mastocytosis, and the Chronic Urticaria QoL questionnaire (CU-Q2oL) in urticaria. Among the many factors that variably contribute to QoL impairment, pruritus can represent the leading cause of patient discomfort. Biologic therapies significantly ameliorate QoL in atopic dermatitis, hereditary angioedema, mastocytosis and chronic urticaria. In general, adequate management strategies are essential for improving QoL in patients with allergic and immunologic skin diseases.

The aim of this article is to reflect on the spirituality concept which, although part of international sociological debate for about three decades, has still not become central to Italian empirical studies. Based on an analytical survey of this debate, we argue the heuristic usefulness of the spirituality concept in order to understand forms of religiosity emerging since the 1960s – both within and without traditional religions. We shall also claim that the religion and spirituality spheres, albeit analytically separate, reciprocally influence each other, benefitting from a relationship of exchange, loans and assimilation producing non-stop transformation and innovation within the religious field.

L'obiettivo di questo articolo è l'analisi del ruolo ricoperto dalle narrazioni nella formazione dell'identità all'interno dei percorsi di conversione religiosa. Le storie rappresentano, sul piano metodologico, lo strumento privilegiato per accedere all'esperienza della conversione religiosa per mezzo di interviste che sollecitino il racconto biografico; il racconto di conversione acquista inoltre una valenza sostantiva in quanto è esso stesso parte integrante dell'esperienza di conversione. Imparare a dare la propria testimonianza personale è una competenza cruciale nel percorso religioso: se da un lato l'ideologia del gruppo diventa la storia del soggetto e ne forma la memoria e l'autobiografia, dall'altro le testimonianze pubbliche di fede consolidano l'impegno mediante un rinnovamento esistenziale e confermano al gruppo la validità dei propri metodi e della propria visione del mondo. La storia di conversione è, del resto, il medium tra il neofita e i membri del gruppo, essendo la modalità con cui i convertiti, resocontando la loro esperienza ai potenziali nuovi membri, mostrano il cambiamento e il miglioramento che la fede ha prodotto nella loro vita. La condivisione e lo scambio di storie personali permette di attestare e dar prova del cammino spirituale compiuto, e la partecipazione alle storie fondamentali condivise collettivamente rinsalda i legami e genera il senso di appartenenza del singolo alla comunità, condizione, questa, che favorisce lo sviluppo di una morale condivisa (Poulton 2005). Al membro è infatti richiesta l'adesione all'ethos del gruppo, vale a dire l'insieme delle credenze, delle attività, del linguaggio e delle altre forme simboliche in cui l'organizzazione si riconosce, costituendosi come "comunità morale" all'interno della quale i membri hanno la tendenza a interpretare e assegnare significati analoghi agli eventi del mondo, generando frame condivisi.