Presenza evangelica e prassi antiprotestanti nella Basilicata del secondo dopoguerra = Evangelical Presence and anti-Protestant Practices in Basilicata after World War II

This article aims to investigate the anti-Protestant campaigns that unfolded in Italy in the aftermath of World War II, with a specific focus on the Basilicata region. Due to significant emigration to the US and subsequent return of migrants, Basilicata became an early site for the diffusion of various Protestant denominations, including Baptists, Methodists, the Salvation Army, and later, Pentecostals. Simultaneously, the region experienced a profound transformation in its political elite. These dynamics make the Lucanian context a particularly compelling case study for examining both the expansion of evangelical movements and the strategies employed by the Catholic Church and the Italian government to contain or suppress them.