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Freedom of religion in Italy is guaranteed under the 1947 constitution of the Italian Republic. Before that religious toleration was provided for by the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy which in turn derived from the Albertine Statute granted by Carlo Alberto of the Kingdom of Sardinia to his subjects in 1848, the Year of Revolutions.
History
Article 1 of the Albertine Statute identified Catholicism as the single religion of state but declared that other existing confessions were tolerated in conformance with the laws. This declaration led rapidly to the opening of the ghettoes and the emancipation of the Waldensians. Toleration was limited however: Article 28, while declaring that there should be a free press, stated specifically that Bibles, catechisms, liturgies and prayer books could not be printed without episcopal permission; religious propaganda was also prohibited by the state. Nevertheless, in the years leading up to the unification of Italy the Kingdom of Sardinia was more tolerant than other states on the peninsula: in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany the practice of religions other than Catholicism was punishable by imprisonment or exile. and Italy became a secular state.
Controversy however remains, particularly abroad, over certain Fascist-era laws about crucifixes that are still in force and that have not been declared unconstitutional. In 2009 the European Court of Human Rights, in a case brought by an Italian mother who wanted her children to have a secular education, ruled against the display of crucifixes in the classrooms of Italian state schools. It found that 'The compulsory display of a symbol of a given confession in premises used by the public authorities… restricted the right of parents to educate their children in conformity with their convictions' and that it restricted the 'right of children to believe or not to believe'.
Demographics
A 2021 study by the independent Center for Studies of New Religions (CESNUR) estimated that 74.5% of the population were Catholic, 15.3% atheist or agnostic, 4.1% non-Catholic Christian, 3.7% Muslim, and 2.2% followers of other religions (including Jews, Hindus, Baha’is, Buddhists, Sikhs, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha).
Freedom of religion in Italy today
Italy is a predominantly Catholic country, with minorities of Muslims (mostly from recent immigration), Sikhs and Jews. Christian Protestants are historically few. A few Protestants, such as two-time Prime Minister Sidney Sonnino, have distinguished themselves.
The Catholic Church was the state church until it was de facto disestablished with the 1948 Constitution, then definitely with the 1984 revision of the Lateran Treaty. Now Italy is a secular state.
Italy guarantees full freedom of religion, but the Catholic Church holds influence on several political parties. The fact that the Catholic Church has influence on political parties is object of debate among those who favour the independence of politics and in particular among those whose views on divorce, abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriages are opposed to Christian ethics and in particular to Catholic doctrine.
Usage of Catholic symbolism (especially crosses) in courts and schools has been contested by minorities, but was ruled legal; some contend that this is in violation of the principles of religious freedom outlined in the Constitution of Italy.
Apart from political and ethical aspects, since the Lateran Treaty, Italy provides public funding of the Catholic Church, that do not include only the otto per mille tax.
In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.
See also
- Eight per thousand - the law through which Italian taxpayers allocate 0.8% ('eight per thousand') of their income taxes to legally recognised religions or to the State.
- Religion in Italy
- Public funding of the Catholic Church in Italy