An increasing number of Italians identify as atheist or agnostic. The current Pope is Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who, before his election in 2013, is from Argentina and was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 to his installation. Only a handful of mosques are recognized by the Italian government as religious spaces, though well over 800 unofficial mosques, known as garage mosques, are currently operating in Italy. Pope Francis ascended to the papacy after the controversial resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013, following a series of sexual abuse scandals within the Catholic clergy and an inability to connect with the congregation. [14] Italy is the third European Union member in terms of highest weekly church attendance rates after Poland and Ireland. Jewish presence dates to the pre-Christian Roman period and has continued uninterrupted up to the present, despite periods of extreme persecution and occasional expulsions from parts of the country. The Roman Republic—and later the Roman Empire—left the question of spirituality in the hands of the people and maintained religious tolerance, so long as they accepted the birthright divinity of the Emperor. Vatican City, which is the headquarters of over one billion Catholics worldwide, is within the territory of Italy and has a massive influence on the growth of Catholic Church in Italy. The Norman Conquest led to the conversion of Muslims leading to their decline in Italy.

Francis is the third non-Italian Pope in a row, after John Paul II (1978–2005) from Poland and Benedict XVI (2005–2013) from Germany. During the early Middle Ages, the Arabs conquered Mediterranean territories across northern Europe, Spain, and into Sicily and southern Italy. Due to the lack of a single, coherent and statistically accurate source, the figures are to be taken with a grain of salt and sums do not necessarily add up.

[1] Other sources give different accounts of Italy's Islamic population, usually around 2%.

More recently, a group of conservative Pentecostals set up the Extended Christian Pact party.

These gave birth to the State of Vatican City. Christianity has been present in the Italian Peninsula since the 1st century.[7][8][9]. The 2012 Global Religious Landscape survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (an American think tank) found that 83.3% of Italy's residents were Christians, 12.4% were irreligious, atheist or agnostic, 3.7% were Muslims and 0.6% adhered to other religions.

[77] From 1946 to 1992 all Prime Ministers but two were Christian Democrats and Catholics. How Many Christians Are In the World Today?

The main religion in Italy is Roman Catholicism. [43] Among the latter, especially relevant are the Romanian Orthodox Church, which has a diocese of Italy, and the Greek Orthodox Church (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople), whose Archdiocese of Italy and Malta and Exarchate of Southern Europe has its see in Venice. According to the 2017 Being Christian in Western Europe survey by Pew, 58% of Italians consider religion to be very or somewhat important. The Catholic Church and the Italian government wrestled for control of governance for centuries, ending with the territory unification that occurred between 1848 – 1871.

The remaining 10% or so is made up of atheists & agnostics, and minority religions, including a growing population of Muslims – mainly immigrants. Catholicism is the dominant religion in Italy, making up 74% of the population. [16], The 2012 Global Religious Landscape survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (an American think tank) found that 83.3% of Italy's residents were Christians, 12.4% were irreligious, atheist or agnostic, 3.7% were Muslims and 0.6% adhered to other religions. Though Italy is a majority Christian country, irreligion in the form of atheism and agnosticism is not uncommon. [43], Italy is home to around 45,000 Jews,[43][44] who are one of the most ancient Jewish communities in the world. Despite significant effort, Islam is not an officially recognized religion in Italy, and several notable politicians have made controversial statements in opposition to Islam.

It was particularly low in Liguria (18.6%), Aosta Valley (21.0%), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (21.9%), and Sardinia (21.9%) and the so-called "red regions" (long-time strongholds of the left-wing/centre-left, from the Italian Communist Party to the current Democratic Party), especially Tuscany (19.4%) and Emilia-Romagna (21.6%).[66].

After World War I, Catholics organised the Italian People's Party,[70] as part of the Christian democracy movement.

During the Fascist regime, the Roman Question was settled through the Lateran Treaty, signed by the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy in 1929.

However, both the Waldensians and the Jews have played an important role in Italian politics. [22] According to a 2017 poll by Ipsos (a France-based research centre), 74.4% of Italians are Catholic (including 27.0% engaged and/or observant), 22.6% are irreligious and 3.0% adhere to other denominations in Italy. [20] According to Doxa (another Italian research centre) in 2014, 75% of Italians are Catholic. Pope Francis is known for his liberal values relative to previous popes, as well as his focus on humility, social welfare, and interfaith conversations.

[43][55] Then come four faiths professed mainly by immigrants: Buddhists (260,000),[43] Hindus (180,000),[43] Sikhs (150,000),[56] and Latter-day Saints (26,000). [81] In the latest available year (2012), 15,226,291 taxpayers chose the Catholic Church, 562,313 the Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches, 72,238 the Union of Jewish Communities in Italy, 47,859 the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Italy, 44,229 the Evangelical Christian Churches Assemblies of God in Italy, and 29,448 the Italian Union of Seventh-Day Adventist Christian Churches.

The Italian resistance movement saw the participation of Catholics,[72] Protestants (Waldensians were especially active in the Action Party),[73] and Jews (through the Jewish Brigade) alike. their respective representatives" (article 8).

The Catholic Church is headquartered in the State of Vatican City, a nation-state located in the center of Rome.

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