A broad perspective on the role of religious institutes in social and cultural practices.This volume examines the cultural contribution of religious institutes, menand women religious, and their role in the constitution of Catholic communitiesof communication in different European countries. The articles focuson social and cultural history by comparing both discourses and culturaland social practices, as well as examining international networks and culturaltransference. How did religious institutes function as cultural elitesin the production and mediation of knowledge, ideologies, cultural codes,and practices? What kind of discursive and operational strategies did theyuse to help construct and propagate social Catholicism, ultramontanism,and confessionalism, and to establish and promote the Catholic communicationsystem? What were the central mechanisms in the productionof knowledge and how were they incorporated within identity politics?The volume also takes a broad perspective on the role of religious institutesin the production and propagation of religious, cultural, and socialpractices, and in the socialisation of the Catholic population.