Consensus vs. Confrontation

Many countries have imposed legislation on biotechnological procedures. However, the way the debates have developed, as well as the degree to which biotechnologies have been restricted, differs widely from country to country. While some countries, such as Italy, were until 2004 incapable of passing a law on biotechnological procedures, others such as Norway had already been imposing restrictive regulations since the 1980s. One reason for this was the different historical relationship between state and church and the different involvement of religious actors in the debate. In Norway, a cooperative approach prevails. The Norwegian Church sees itself as part of a pluralistic society/the public and intends to convince with religious and secular arguments. It therefore explicitly seeks accordance with the argumentation and a consensus in the positions with humanists and non-Christian ethics. In Italy, church and state have chosen a confrontational approach rather than a cooperative one. Overall, the Catholic Church regarded itself as an agent and defender of rational, universal and non-negotiable values and principles, which all reasonable humans could share. In contrast, particular secular and laical forces found that the Catholic Church has gone beyond its constitutional rights by trying to illegitimately impose its world view and ethical-religious values on society as a whole.