Compared to many other western industrialized nations, Italy is still a religious country in which the Catholic faith continues to play a major role within society. Overall, 89 percent of Italians are religious, and 44 percent are highly religious. At the same time, traditional Catholic doctrine influences everyday life in Italy only to a limited extent. Those are the some of the key findings from the 2008 Religion Monitor, an international study carried out by the Bertelsmann Stiftung to compare religious beliefs and practices around the globe.
The findings for Italy -- based on interviews with over 1,000 respondents there -- show that religious attitudes impact life in the country to a much greater extent than in other industrialized nations, both in Europe and beyond. For example, only 60 to 70 percent of the French and British can be considered religious, a classification that applies to 70 percent of Germans and 72 percent of Austrians. Only Poland, Spain and the United States exhibit rates on par with those found in Italy. At the same time, only 27 percent in Spain and 40 percent in Poland can be considered highly religious. At 9 percent, moreover, the share of those Italians who have no religious affiliation is very small. Yet even among that subset, findings from the Religion Monitor show that one in two can still be considered religious.
Professions of faith in Italy are more than mere words -- something that can be seen in the respondents’ strong religious convictions. According to the survey’s findings, 85 percent of Italians believe in the existence of God and 67 percent believe there is life after death. In addition, the majority of Italian Catholics express their faith through both public and private practices, with 55 percent attending a church service at least once a month and 47 percent praying at least once a day. In no other European country do people meditate as often as in Italy.
Comparing responses across age groups reveals a high degree of continuity. Although the share of highly religious respondents is greatest among those over 60, the share of people who are either religious or highly religious is even greater among those under 30 than it is among seniors. A “gender gap” is also present, in that 55 percent of women can be considered highly religious compared to only 31 percent of men.
Another significant finding is the positive image that Italians have of God. Most associate God with emotions such as hope, love, gratitude and joy, with only one in four associating God with anger, despair or anxiety. In terms of their relationship with God, however, the most prevalent emotion experienced is reverence.
”Religiousness in Italy is extensive, vital and deeply rooted,” says Dr. Martin Rieger, director of the Cultural Orientations Program at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, summarizing the survey’s findings. “In addition, it’s clearly present in all age groups, which means Italian society will almost certainly retain its religious nature in the future. In fact, when it comes to Italy, one can even speak of an ‘inherent religiousness.’ ”
At the same time, the Religion Monitor shows that, on a practical level, religious considerations impact everyday life in Italy only to a limited extent. When asked which areas of life are influenced most by their faith, three out of four Italians name personal issues such as coping with illness, giving life meaning or dealing with important family events such as births, marriages and deaths. Only one in two says religion plays a role in childrearing or in his or her marriage or partnership, and only 42 percent say that it influences their sexuality. Politics, moreover, is the area of life least influenced by belief, with only 26 percent saying their ideas of God or religion have an impact on their political attitudes.
Enzo Pace, professor of Sociology and Religious Sociology at the University of Padua, warns of drawing one-sided conclusions from the findings. “While it’s true that Italians still see themselves as Catholics, only a minority can be considered ‘ideal Catholics,’ in that they remain true to church teachings, attend services on Sunday, participate in activities within the parish or community, or pray or meditate on a regular basis,” he says. “Strictly speaking, Catholicism is the religion of only a minority -- about one-third -- of all Italians. This core can now be seen as home to the militant, resolute faithful, and it is surrounded by a number of concentric circles that represent increasingly modernist religious tendencies. These groups have retained some features of their Catholic heritage, but tend to reflect more autonomous types of belief.”
About the Religion Monitor: The Religion Monitor is an innovative, interdisciplinary and interreligious project being carried out by the Bertelsmann Stiftung. Based on a survey made up of over 100 questions, more than 21,000 people in 21 countries have been interviewed to examine attitudes relating to six core dimensions of religion and faith, including religious convictions, personal religious experiences, public and private practices, and the significance of religion in everyday life. Findings from the survey are also pooled to create a “Centrality Index” that makes it possible to classify respondents as religious, highly religious or non-religious. The detailed data also make it possible to identify the numerous ways religion influences life on an individual level, as well as its impact on society in general. Moreover, the results provide important insight into various belief systems. One of the project’s main goals is to use the survey’s scientific findings to promote long-term dialogue among the world’s diverse religions.