Irreligion in Italy

Religion in Italy according to the Global Religious Landscape survey by the Pew Forum, 2012[1]

1. Christianity (83.3%)
2. No religion (12.4%)
3. Islam (3.70%)
4. Buddhism (0.20%)
5. Hinduism (0.10%)
6. Other religions (0.30%)

Irreligion in Italy includes all citizens of Italy that are atheist, agnostic, or otherwise irreligious. Approximately 12% of Italians are irreligious, and no affiliation is the second most common religious demographic in Italy after Christianity. Freedom of religion in Italy was guaranteed by the Constitution of Italy following its enactment in 1948. Until then, the Catholic Church was the official state church of Italy. The latest data in 2020, from a large study financed by the Italian Catholic Bishops Conference, concluded that 30% of the population was atheist, being around 18 million people.[2] Moreover, in 2023, regular Church and mass attendance dropped to 18.8%, which represented 11.28 million Italians,[3] while other research in 2024 showed only 15.8% were regular churchgoers.[4]

## History

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The earliest recorded accounts of atheism in Italy was in the 1550s.[5] 15th century Italy was prominently written about as a breeding ground for Atheism.[6] During the Italian Renaissance, Italy became a major hub of early secular philosophy.

In a letter to John Calvin, Italian theologian Lelio Sozzini wrote: "Most of my friends are so well educated they can scarcely believe God exists."[6]

Roger Ascham in 1551 wrote about his experience in Italy: "a man may freelie discourse against what he will, against whom he lust: against any Prince, agaynst any gouernement, yea against God him selfe, and his whole Religion".[7]

Gui Patin in the 17th century described Italy in reference to religion as the land of "Pox, poisoning, and atheism".[6]

Lucilio Vanini represented an early voice in Italian secularism. Vanini became a Carmelite Friar in 1603. Vanini sought refuge secretly with the English ambassador to Venice in 1612. While in England, he publicly renounced Catholicism with the writing of two books about naturalistic philosophy. Vanini's idea of naturalistic philosophy was that the world is eternal and governed by immanent laws. In this time, Vanini wrote two books: Aversus veteres philosophos in 1615, and De Admirandis Naturae Reginae Deaeque Mortalium Arcanis in 1616. The ideas in Vanini's books caused controversy in Italy with the Catholic Church and he was accused of atheism. For the accusation of atheism, he was condemned. In 1619, known under the pseudonym Pompeo Uciglio, he was executed in Toulouse.[8] The Venetian Holy Inquisition sought to challenge irreligion during this time.[6]

Other irreligious Italian philosophers such as Giuseppe Rensi were critical of religion later in the 20th century.[9]

## Prominent Italian irreligious historical figures

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### Politicians

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* Enrico Berlinguer – secretary of the Communist party
* Fausto Bertinotti – former president of the Chamber of Deputies[dubious - discuss]
* Massimo D'Alema – former prime minister of Italy[dubious - discuss]
* Gianfranco Fini – former president of the Chamber of Deputies
* Pietro Ingrao – former president of the Chamber of Deputies[10]
* Nilde Iotti – former president of the Chamber of Deputies[11]
* Benito Mussolini – former prime minister of Italy and leader of the National Fascist Party[12]
* Cesare Merzagora – former president of the Senate of the Republic
* Giorgio Napolitano – former president of Italy[13]
* Pietro Nenni – secretary of the Socialist party
* Marcello Pera – former president of the Senate
* Sandro Pertini – former president of Italy and president of the Chamber of Deputies
* Giovanni Spadolini – former prime minister of Italy and president of the Senate

### Artists

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* Giacomo Manzù – created the doors of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City[14]

### Scholars

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* Alessandro Barbero – historian
* Margherita Hack – astrophysicist
* Piergiorgio Odifreddi – mathematician and writer
* Carlo Rovelli – physicist

### Writers

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* Primo Levi – Holocaust survivor, author of If this is a man
* Pier Paolo Pasolini – poet, writer and film director

### All notable figures

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* Italy has had many notable figures who identify or have identified as atheist or irreligious.
* For full list, see main article: Italian atheists.

## Current demographics

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11.5–13% of the population in Italy are religiously unaffiliated.[15] The Global Religious Futures project predicts this number to grow to 16.3% by 2050, despite the unaffiliated group having a slightly lower fertility rate than the religious ones.[16] Using a less direct definition, the WIN/GIA Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism survey found that 23% of the population was "not a religious person" in 2012, which grew to 26% by 2017.[17][18] About 96% of all Italians are baptized into the Catholic Church which impacts births, marriage, and funerals.[19] Importance of religion has declined among the younger generation of Italians in the 21st century.[19]

## See also

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* Demographics of Italy
* Religion in Italy
* Catholic Church
* Atheism
* Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics

## References

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1. ^ "The Global Religious Landscape". Pew Research Center. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
2. ^ Badilini, Sara. "In Catholic Italy, 'de-baptism' is gaining popularity". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
3. ^ "Italian Mass attendance lower than ever in wake of pandemic". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
4. ^ Staff, ZENIT (12 November 2024). "How Catholic is Italy still? The latest statistics on the state of the Church". ZENIT - English (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 June 2025.
5. ^ Spencer, Nick (2014). Atheists: The Origin of the Species. A&C Black. p. 1\. ISBN 978-1-4729-0298-6.
6. ^ a b c d Davidson, Nicholas (1992). "Unbelief and Atheism in Italy, 1500–1700". Atheism from the Reformation to the Enlightenment. pp. 55–86\. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198227366.003.0003. ISBN 978-0-19-822736-6.
7. ^ Ascham, Roger (1570). The Scholemaster. p. 236.
8. ^ "The Galileo Project". galileo.rice.edu. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
9. ^ Coltri, Marzia A. (2020). "Atheism and Free Thought: Some Modern Italian Philosophical Contributions". Literature & Aesthetics. 30 (2).
10. ^ "Archivio Corriere della Sera". archivio.corriere.it. Retrieved 27 March 2023.[full citation needed]
11. ^ "la Repubblica/politica: Politici e gente comune per l'addio a Nilde Iotti". www.repubblica.it. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
12. ^ Greenspan, Jesse (7 February 2019). "9 Things You May Not Know About Mussolini". HISTORY. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
13. ^ "Ecco come si svolgerà il funerale laico di Stato per Napolitano: per la prima volta nell'Aula della Camera". la Repubblica (in Italian). 23 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
14. ^ "The Atheist Who Made the Doors of St. Peter's Basilica". NCR. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
15. ^ 11.6 according to PEW 2016: "Spring 2016 Survey Data | Pew Research Center". www.pewglobal.org. pp. Questions Q109ITA and Q109ITAb. Retrieved 9 October 2017.; 11.7% according to the 2018 Eurobarometer survey: "Eurobarometer 90.4: Attitudes of Europeans towards Biodiversity, Awareness and Perceptions of EU customs, and Perceptions of Antisemitism". European Commission. August 2019 - via GESIS.; 12.4% according to the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project's 2010 estimate; and 13% according to the Oxford Handbook of Atheism: Bullivant, Stephen Sebastian; Ruse, Michael (November 2013). The Oxford Handbook of Atheism (First ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom. ISBN 9780199644650. OCLC 830367873.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
* Jessica Schrader (20 October 2015). "How Many Atheists Are There?". Psychology Today.
16. ^ "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". Pew Research Center. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
17. ^ "Religion prevails in the world" (PDF). 14 November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
18. ^ "GLOBAL INDEX OF RELIGIOSITY AND ATHEISM – 2012" (PDF). WIN-Gallup International. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
19. ^ a b "Italian Culture - Religion". Cultural Atlas. Retrieved 28 October 2022.

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Religion in Italy

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