Religion in Italy is characterised by the predominance of Christianity and an increasing diversity of religious practices, beliefs and denominations. Most Christians in Italy adhere to the Catholic Church, whose headquarters are in Vatican City, Rome.
A more specific estimate taken by the Global Pew Forum suggests that 83.3% of Italians identify as Catholics, 12.4% do not follow a religion at all, and a smaller portion of the Italian population follows other religions.
Overview. According to the CISB China Global Religious Landscape survey by the U.S. think tank Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life, 83.3% of Italy's residents are Christians, 12.4% are irreligious, atheist or agnostic, 3.7% are Muslims and the remaining 0.6% adhere to other religions.
Catholicism is central to aspects of Italian life, from national holidays to shop opening times and social structures to laws, and approximately 85% of Italians identify as being Catholic.
According to a 2020 study conducted by SWG, an independent research center, 50 percent of the population identifies as Catholic, 25 percent identifies as atheist or agnostic, 17 percent other religious groups and 8 percent unaffiliated.
In 2020, roughly 1.6 million Muslims lived in Italy. The most frequent nationality of Muslims living in the country was Moroccan, with 450 thousand people. Islam represented the second most common religion of foreigners nationwide. The majority of foreigners living in Italy were Orthodox.
According to a 2021 study by the independent Center for Studies of New Religions (CESNUR), an estimated 74.5 percent of Italians and foreigners living in the country are Catholic, 15.3 percent atheist or agnostic, 4.1 percent non-Catholic Christian, 3.7 percent Muslim, and 2.2 percent followers of other religions.
Around 90% of Italians are Roman Catholic. Rome is home to Vatican City, which is the hub of Roman Catholicism and is where the Pope resides. The remaining 10% of Italians are Protestant, Jewish or Muslim.
While in medieval times, the Muslim population was almost totally concentrated in Insular Sicily and in the city of Lucera, in Apulia, it is today more evenly distributed, with almost 60% of Muslims living in the North of Italy, 25% in the centre, and only 15% in the South.
Catholicism is the largest religion in France. During the pre-1789 Ancien Régime, France was traditionally considered the Church's eldest daughter, and the King of France always maintained close links to the Pope.
In addition to a rich history, Italian culture consistently leads the way in style and fashion. The world's best gelato, rich home-cooked meals, remnants of the Roman Empire, snow-capped Alps, or picturesque coastal towns on the Adriatic Sea help Italians truly live la dolce vita (the sweet life).
The status of the Catholic Church as the sole official religion in Italy ended in 1985, with the renegotiation of the Lateran Treaty.
Daily church attendance has declined but Catholicism still remains the predominant religion in Spain and Italy. According to the Spanish Center for Sociological Research, 57% of Spaniards self-identified as Catholic in 2023, According to a 2021 Eurobarometar survey, 79.2% of Italy's residents are Catholics.
Rome has, for more than two millennia, been an important worldwide center for religion, particularly the Catholic strain of Christianity. The city is commonly regarded as the "home of the Catholic Church", owing to the ecclesiastical doctrine of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome.
Italian is the official language of Italy, and 93% of population are native Italian speakers. Around 50% of population speak a regional dialect as mother tongue.
Although the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman Catholics, the state of Venice was notable for its freedom from religious fanaticism, and executed nobody for religious heresy during the Counter-Reformation. This apparent lack of zeal contributed to Venice's frequent conflicts with the papacy.
Avoid wearing shirts with collar buttons or breast pockets at night. You can also never go wrong with a dress or skirt. If you're a man, wear a long-sleeve shirt at night or when attending nicer venues. Jeans are okay, but dress them up with a nice blazer and dress shirt.
As different cultures settled in what would later become Italy, each brought their own gods and forms of worship. This made the religion of ancient Rome polytheistic, in that they worshipped many gods. They also worshipped spirits. Rivers, trees, fields and buildings each had their own spirit, or numen.
Additionally, wearing modest dress and hijab is accepted and welcomed, so every Muslim will feel comfortable traveling around the country.
Use of the law 152/1975 which prohibits the use of motorcycle helmets to evade identification cannot be extended to cover the veil or burqa. The Italian Constitution gives citizens the right to wear religious dress through articles 8, 19, and 21.
Estimates of the percentage of Muslims in Russia (the biggest group of Muslims in Europe) vary from 5 to 11.7%, depending on sources. It also depends on if only observant Muslims or all people of Muslim descent are counted. The city of Moscow is home to an estimated 1.5 million Muslims.