Religion in Italy

Religion in Italy has been historically characterised by the dominance of the Catholic Church, the largest branch of Christianity, since the East–West Schism. However, due to immigration, notably the influx of Muslims, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Protestants, Buddhists and Hindus, as well as proselytism and secularization, have increased religious pluralism in the 21st century. Italy has also a pre-Christian Jewish community and one of the largest shares of Jehovah's Witnesses in the world.

Quotes

  • I remember having Jewish classmates in my school who did not celebrate Christian feasts when most of the class did. I grew up in the late 1950s and 1960s in Italy, where there was a strong Communist presence, and children from Communist families would not celebrate certain civil and religious feasts either. There were also Protestant children who did not share in the joyful celebrations of the feasts of the Virgin Mary, a typical feature of Italian culture. And so on. If the law should compel the Jehovah’s Witness children to celebrate birthdays and Christmas, it should also compel children from Jewish [families and] atheist families to celebrate the birth of Jesus, which would be a serious violation of their freedom of religion or belief. A more reasonable solution is to teach [the] minors that a pluralistic society includes women, men, and children of different beliefs and cultures, and all should be respected.
  • On June 3, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, President of the Italian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, criticized a modification to Article 47 of Law 22/85, which governs Italy’s financial support for religions. Zuppi stated his “disappointment at the government’s unilateral decision to alter the purposes and allocation methods of the eight per thousand tax revenue. This change undermines the original agreement between the Church and the government and effectively distorts its intended logic and functioning, resulting in inequalities that harm both the Catholic Church and other religious bodies with agreements with the state.”
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