Religion in Italy - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Catholicism is by far the largest religious group in Italy. (Catholics make up 87.8% of the population, with 36.8% considering themselves practicing Catholics and 30.8% attending Church every Sunday.) However, there are also some important religious minorities.

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll

Eurobarometer

Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973. It produces reports of public opinion of certain issues relating to the European Union across the member states...

2005:

74% of Italian citizens responded that they believe there is a God;
16% answered that they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force;
6% answered that they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force.

Demography

This is a scheme of the religious composition of Italian population (58,751,711 - 2006, estimated):

Christians
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

: 53,800,000 (91.6%)
- Catholics: 51,600,000 (87.8%)
  - Latin Rite Catholics
    Latin Church
    The Latin Church is the largest particular church within the Catholic Church. It is a particular church not on the level of the local particular churches known as dioceses or eparchies, but on the level of autonomous ritual churches, of which there are 23, the remaining 22 of which are Eastern...
    
    : 51,500,000 (87.6%)
  - Eastern Rite Catholics: 100,000 (0.2%)
    - Italo-Albanians
      Italo-Greek Catholic Church
      The Italo-Greek Catholic Church is one of the 22 Eastern Catholic Churches which, together with the Latin Church, comprise the Catholic Church...
      
      : 60,000 (0.1%)
    - Others (Romanian-Catholics
      Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic
      The Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic is an Eastern Catholic Church which is in full union with the Roman Catholic Church. It is ranked as a Major Archiepiscopal Church and uses the Byzantine liturgical rite in the Romanian language....
      
      , Ukrainian Greek Catholics
      Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
      The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
      
      , Armenian Catholics
      Armenian Catholic Church
      |- |The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church sui juris in union with the other Eastern Rite, Oriental Rite and Latin Rite Catholics who accept the Bishop of Rome as spiritual leader of the Church. It is regulated by Eastern canon law...
      
      , etc.): 40,000 (0.07%)
- Other Christians: 2,200,000 (3.8%)
  - Eastern Orthodox
    Eastern Orthodox Church
    The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
    
    : 950,000 (1.6%)
    - Romanian Orthodox
      Romanian Orthodox Church
      The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...
      
      : 500,000 (0.85%)
    - Ukrainian Orthodox
      Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate
      Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate is one of the three major Orthodox churches in Ukraine, alongside the Ukrainian Orthodox Church , and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church...
      
      : 180,000 (0,31%)
    - Moldovan Orthodox
      Moldovan Orthodox Church
      The Moldovan Orthodox Church is an autonomous church under the Russian Orthodox Church, whose canonic territory covers the Republic of Moldova....
      
      : 100,000 (0,15%)
    - Others (Bulgarian Orthodox
      Bulgarian Orthodox Church
      The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
      
      , Serbian Orthodox
      Serbian Orthodox Church
      The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
      
      , Greek Orthodox
      Greek Orthodox Church
      The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
      
      , Russian Orthodox
      Russian Orthodox Church
      The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
      
      , etc.): 180,000 (0.31%)
  - Protestants
    Protestantism
    Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
    
    : 725,000 (1.3%)
    - Evangelicals
      Evangelicalism
      Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
      
      and Pentecostals
      Pentecostalism
      Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
      
      : 550,000 (0.94%)
      - Assemblies of God
        Assemblies of God
        The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
        
        : 400,000 (0.68%)
      - Others: 150,000 (0.25%)
    - Mainline Protestants: 175,000 (0.20%)
      - Waldensians
        Waldensians
        Waldensians, Waldenses or Vaudois are names for a Christian movement of the later Middle Ages, descendants of which still exist in various regions, primarily in North-Western Italy. There is considerable uncertainty about the earlier history of the Waldenses because of a lack of extant source...
        
        and Methodists
        Methodism
        Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
        
        : 57,000 (0.09%)
        
        Waldensians: 50,000 (0.08%)
        
        Methodists: 7,000 (0.01%)
      - Seventh-day Adventists: 25,000 (0.04%)
      - Baptists: 20,000 (0.03%)
      - Brethren
        Brethren
        Brethren is a name adopted by several Protestant Christian bodies which do not necessarily share historical roots. As classified in The Pilgrim Church by EH Broadbent, the earliest primitive churches to Paulician Brethren, to Bogomil Brethren, to Anabaptist and to Moravian Brethren were historical...
        
        : 20,000 (0.03%)
      - Lutherans
        Lutheranism
        Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
        
        : 8,000 (0.01%)
      - Anglicans
        Anglicanism
        Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
        
        : 15,000 (0.03%)
      - Others (Disciples of Christ
        Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
        The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...
        
        , Reformed
        Reformed churches
        The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...
        
        , Presbyterians
        Presbyterianism
        Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
        
        , Mennonite
        Mennonite
        The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
        
        s, etc.): 30,000 (0.05%)
  - Jehovah's Witnesses
    Jehovah's Witnesses
    Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
    
    : 500,000 (0.85%)
  - Latter-day Saints: 25,000 (0.04%)

Muslims
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

: 1,290,000 (1.9%)
Buddhists
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

: 160,000 (0.3%)
Hindus
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

: 115,000 (0.2%)
Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

s: 70,000 (0.1%)
Jews
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

: 45,000 (0.1%)
Bahá'ís: 4,900
No Religion
Irreligion
Irreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...

: 3,400,000 (5.8%)

Demography

See also