Romanian Pentecostal Immigrants in Italy: Between Adaptations and Innovations

In this chapter, I investigate the forms of religious doctrine and practice adopted by the Romanian Pentecostal communities in Italy. These forms distinguish Pentecostals from members of other confessions, but they also show convergences that have emerged as an effect of the multicultural Italian context. The Romanian Pentecostal Churches constitute a challenge both to the symbolic monopoly of the Catholic Church and to that of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Italy. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, despite their profound differences, recognize in each other some central aspects such as a strong dogmatic apparatus and the prevailing separation between clergy and laity. The Pentecostal Churches instead propose an alternative model in which experience counts more than theological preparation. In this backdrop, Pentecostal Churches in Italy have experienced changes due to transnational migration, adapting their practices to the Italian social and cultural context. In particular, Pentecostal Churches adopted a culturally neutral approach favouring the inclusion of minorities highly segregated in Romania. Furthermore, although these Churches adopt strongly conservative positions regarding gender relations, they promoted women’s agency in the receiving context. Finally, they also accentuated their dimension of assistance and pastoral activism towards young people by adopting a particular aspect of Catholicism.