Pluralism and interreligious dialogue at school in the process of building a European citizenship. Principles and practices

European Union has undergone a profound evolution passing gradually from six to twenty-seven States, thus giving rise to a community where the identities of Europeans merge into a vast multicultural platform. In following the Schengen agreements, many borders have been removed and European citizens became free to move within the EU boundaries to study and work abroad and to experience collectively the common space. Thanks to the new and old migratory flows, in many cities there is now a great variety of languages and we live, more and more, in a community of culturally different individuals. In this frame, nowadays, in schools, universities, offices, the religious topic is sometimes the subject of debates and controversies, others it is left completely out of public space. However, if it is true that religion can represent the place where the person redesigns his identity, today the religious element can constitute the fundamental content of citizenship as an ineliminable dimension of the pluralistic configuration of contemporary society. The paper aims at giving an overview on some recommendations and guidelines produced in recent decades by European institutions on the function of interreligious dialogue in the construction of European citizenship and it focuses on the role played by religious actors in this process. Finally, it dwells on some case studies and practical applications.