The special issue 23 of \u201cQuaderni di diritto e politica ecclesiastica\u201d (Il Mulino 2015) collected twelve essays (plus an introductory report), dedicated to the analysis of the relationship between bioethics, law and religion and divided into two parts concerning, respectively, the examination of comparative and theoretical profiles, and the discussion of the Italian legislation and case-law. By distinguishing three different approaches to bioethical issues (namely, a descriptive approach, a critical approach and a political one), this review offers a survey of some of the several insights that emerge from the volume