Music is a powerful ‘symbolon’ that unites people. It is also a vehicle for the transmission of religious cultures and traditions. Among the arts music, more than other creative forms, allows people to express their religiosity. It is the ultimate instrument for connecting with God, for manifesting one’s religious belonging, and for spreading religious precepts. It can also be an integral part of the rituality of religious practice. Religions, in fact, have always used music as part of their acts of worship.
Music is also an extraordinary method for overcoming cultural diversity. It is a very effective ‘weapon’ against the irrational rejection of difference and helps to break down the barriers of cultural understanding that have always been an obstacle to building a peaceful coexistence of faiths.
Among the forms of expression of religious freedom, music holds a pre-eminent position. Its emotional content transcends language and reaches directly into the hearts and minds of the faithful. At the same time, however, it is an activity of the intellect and as such it sometimes clashes with the rigidity of regulatory systems, such as those set up to protect copyright and product marketing. For this reason, we can sometimes find a contrast between the legitimate expectations of economic operators and the use of musical pieces for religious activities by faith communities. Nevertheless, the constitutional norms that protect religion provide the jurist with all the tools to resolve this conflict and identify the operational protocols necessary for the correct exercise of “religious freedom in music”.