Religion in Italy

Religion in Italy has a long history, mostly shaped by the Catholic Church, which is the largest part of Christianity. This connection goes back many years and is strong because of Rome’s special role. The Vatican, where the Pope lives, is inside Italy, making the country very important to many Christians around the world.

Italy is home to many of the world's largest oldest churches. In this picture, the Florence Cathedral, which has the largest brick dome in the world.

In recent years, Italy has welcomed people from other places, bringing more kinds of religions. Today, besides Catholics, there are communities of Muslims, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Protestants, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews. This mix of beliefs makes religious life in Italy more varied and interesting. Even though many people still identify as Catholic, more people say they have no religion, showing that views are changing over time.

Overview

Pisa Cathedral, a notable example of Romanesque architecture, in particular the style known as Pisan Romanesque

The 2012 Global Religious Landscape survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that most people in Italy were Christians. By 2016, around 82% of Italy’s people were linked to the Catholic Church. Today, about 68% of people in Italy identify as Christian.

Italy has a special connection to the Catholic Church because the Pope, its leader, lives in Vatican City, a small area inside Rome. Many important Catholic groups also have their main offices in Rome. Besides Catholics, Italy now has many other religious groups, including Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Protestants, Buddhists, and Hindus, mostly because of people moving to Italy from other countries.

Demography

Most people in Italy are Catholic Christians. We know this from surveys and groups that study religion.

It is hard to get exact numbers, so these figures are just estimates. The table below shows many groups, even some without full data.

Religion / denomination	Italian citizens		Foreign residents		Total population
Religion / denomination		members	%	members	%	members	%
Christianity	44,032,500	81.6	2,427,000	48.2	46,459,000	78.7
Catholicism	42,741,000	79.2	830,000	16.5	43,571,000	73.9
Latin Catholic Church	N/A
Eastern Catholic Churches	N/A
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church – Apostolic Exarchate	N/A				69,000	0.1
Italo-Albanian Catholic Church	N/A				56,000	0.1
Romanian Greek Catholic Church	N/A
Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy	445,000	0.8	1,349,000	26.8	1,794,00	3.0
Romanian Orthodox Church – Diocese of Italy	N/A				1,000,000	1.7
Russian Orthodox Church (incl. Patriarchal parishes)	N/A				250,000	0.4
Greek Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Italy	N/A				150,000	0.3
Orthodox Church of Ukraine	N/A
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)	N/A
Coptic Orthodox Church	N/A				40,000	0.1
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church	N/A
Serbian Orthodox Church	N/A				15,000	0.0
Bulgarian Orthodox Church	N/A				3,000	0.0
Armenian Apostolic Church	N/A
Orthodox Church in Italy	N/A
Protestantism	366,000	0.7	214,000	4.3	580,000	1.0
Pentecostalism	250,000	0.5	N/A
Assemblies of God in Italy	120,000	0.2	N/A
Federation of Pentecostal Churches	50,000	0.1	N/A
Apostolic Church in Italy	10,000	0.0	N/A
Historical Protestantism (Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy)	61,000	0.1	N/A
Waldensian Evangelical Church	30,000	0.1	N/A
Baptist Evangelical Christian Union of Italy	15,000	0.0	N/A
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy	7,000	0.0	N/A
Methodist Evangelical Church in Italy	5,000	0.0	N/A
Others (including Presbyterians and The Salvation Army)	3,000	0.0	N/A
African Pentecostalism and African-initiated churches	N/A
Anglican Communion	N/A
Church of Nigeria	N/A
Association "Church of England"	N/A
Evangelical Christian Church of the Brethren	19,000	0.0	N/A
Adventism	18,000	0.0	N/A
Italian Union of Seventh-day Adventist Christian Churches	N/A				9,500	0.0
Restoration Movement	5,500	0.0	N/A
Nondenominational Christianity and other Protestants	12,500	0.0	N/A
Jehovah's Witnesses	414,000	0.8	34,000	0.7	514,500	0.9
Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Italy	250,000	0.5
Mormonism	28,500	0.1
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy	29,000	0.1
Independent Catholicism	26,000	0.0
Other Christians	12,000	0.0
Islam	566,000	1.0	1,719,000	34.2	2,285,000	3.9
Sunni Islam	N/A
Union of Islamic Communities and Organisations in Italy	N/A
Italian Islamic Religious Community	N/A
Italian Islamic Confederation	N/A
Shia Islam	N/A
Buddhism	218,000	0.4	140,000	2.8	358,000	0.6
Soka Gakkai Italian Buddhist Institute	N/A				75,000	0.1
Italian Buddhist Union	N/A				61,000	0.1
Hinduism	57,000	0.1	166,000	3.3	223,000	0.4
Italian Hindu Union	N/A
Sikhism	25,000	0.0	62,000	1.2	106,500	0.2
Other Asian religions	19,500	0.0	62,000	1.2	106,500	0.2
Judaism	36,000	0.1	4,000	0.1	40,000	0.1
Union of Italian Jewish Communities	25,000	0.0	N/A
Other religions	84,000	0.2	177,000	3.5	261,000	0.4
No religion	8,928,000	16.5	336,000	6.7	9,264,500	15.7
Totals	53,966,485	100.0	5,030,716	100.0	58,997,201	100.0

Religious practice

Attendance at a place of worship at least once a week per region

In Italy, many people still go to church more than in other parts of Western Europe. A study from 2017 showed that 58% of Italians think religion is important. Italy has more people who practice their religion than those who do not, which is unusual for Europe. But since 2001, fewer people are practicing their religion.

Only about 19% of Italians say they regularly practice their religion. This means fewer people are going to church as often. In 2015, about 29% of people went to a place of worship every week. Some areas of Italy, like Southern Italy, had more people going to church. Places such as Sicily and Campania had higher numbers, while areas like Liguria and Tuscany had fewer people attending services.

Religion and politics

Further information: List of Italian religious minority politicians

After Italy became one country, most Catholics did not get involved in politics. The main political groups were not based on religion until the early 1900s.

In 1905, a group called the Italian Catholic Electoral Union was created to help Catholic voters. In 1913, it joined with the Liberal party. After World War I, Catholics started the Italian People's Party.

During the time of Fascist rule in Italy, an agreement called the Lateran Treaty was made in 1929 between the Italian government and the Vatican. This created Vatican City as its own country.

After World War II, a new party called Christian Democracy was formed. It was inspired by Catholic ideas but was not officially a religious party. This party was very important in Italian politics for many years. Different religious groups, including Waldensians and Jews, have also been active in various political parties in Italy.

Religion in Italy