Perpetuating or Resisting Coloniality? the Role Civil Society Organizations in Ireland and Italy on Religion and Gender.

Critical scholarship on the colonial nature of the European Union (EU) has predominantly focused on its historical development and external relations as extensions of colonial power. However, coloniality, as an enduring structure of power, is not limited to the EU’s external actions. It operates along a continuum that begins within the Member States and extends to the EU’s relations with marginalized groups or 'Others'. This paper therefore seeks to uncover the dynamics that shape such continuum of coloniality.

The paper explores how coloniality operates within EU Member States by examining the roles of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Italy and Ireland. Focusing on the intersecting themes of gender and religion—both central to the identities of these countries—this study investigates whether CSOs reproduce or resist colonial structures.

Using the framework of the Colonial Matrix of Power (CMP), this paper analyzes how coloniality manifests in the activism, policies, and practices of various organizations. Ireland and Italy are chosen as case studies due to their distinct yet significant relationships with coloniality, particularly in relation to gender and religion. These relationships stem from their historical roles as either colonizer or colonized, and the intricate connection between gender and faith in both contexts. Methodologically, the research employs semi-structured interviews and focus groups with activists, confessional and non-confessional organizations, and civil society groups, conceptualizing these groups as potential (de)colonial "laboratories" that either challenge or sustain colonial power dynamics.