Interactions between politics and religion are frequently reduced to mediatized and highly politicized ethical issues (such as abortion, gay marriage, Christian heritage of Europe, etc.). Focusing instead on the role of religious - here Catholics - actors in the local experiences of social economy and welfare helps instead to stress the discrete interactions between politics and religion. In particular, the strong involvement of religious actors, beyond their traditional charity-oriented activity, also concerns more solidarity-oriented experiences of social and solidarity economy (micro-credit, social integration through economic activity, ethical trade, solidarity associations with migrants, etc.). These articulations between charity and solidarity oriented actions generate new forms of politicization with respect to both social movements and policy makers. These questions are addressed here comparatively in two Spanish (Basque Autonomous Community) and Italian (Emilia-Romagna) regions.
