Atheism as Part of Religious Phenomenon. Questions and New Challenges to Secularism

The (re) emergence of religion within modern societies, that are characterized with a great diversity, is challenging secularism. Within this context, atheism, and other forms of nonbelief, are on the rise as well. Starting from a traditional issue, that is the definition of religion, this paper aims to analize atheism as one part of the religious phenomenon. But, if freedom of religion means also freedom from religion, this does not mean that atheism and religions must always be treated in the same manner. Instead, the protection of the theistic and atheistic positions, specially as organized groups, must be reasonably adapted to their peculiar features. Europe and Italy provide some good case-studies.