Irreligion in Italy

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.

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

  Christianity (83.3%)
  No religion (12.4%)
  Islam (3.7%)
  Buddhism (0.2%)
  Hinduism (0.1%)
  Other religions (0.3%)

History

The earliest recorded accounts of atheism in Italy was in the 1550s.[2] During the Italian Renaissance, Italy became a major hub of early secular philosophy. Lucilio Vanini represented an early voice in Italian secularism. The Venetian Holy Inquisition sought to challenge irreligion during this time.[3]

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. Irreligious Italian philosophers such as Giuseppe Rensi were critical of religion in the 20th century.[4]

Demographics

11.5–13% of the population in Italy are religiously unaffiliated.[5] The Global Religious Futures project predicts this number to grow to 16.3% by 2050, despite the unaffiliated group having slightly lower fertility rate than the religious ones.[6] 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.[7][8]

See also

References
  1. "The Global Religious Landscape". Pew Research Center. 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  2. Spencer, Nick (8 May 2014). Atheists: The Origin of the Species. A&C Black. ISBN 9781472902986. Retrieved 2 November 2017 – via Google Books.
  3. Davidson, Nicholas (1992). "Unbelief and Atheism in Italy, 1500–1700". In Hunter, Michael; Wootton, David (eds.). Atheism from the Reformation to the Enlightenment. ISBN 0198227361.
  4. Coltri, Marzia A. (2020). "Atheism and Free Thought: Some Modern Italian Philosophical Contributions". Literature & Aesthetics. 30 (2): 159–177.
  5. 11.6 according to PEW 2016: "Spring 2016 Survey Data | Pew Research Center". www.pewglobal.org. pp. Questions Q109ITA and Q109ITAb. Retrieved 2017-10-09.; 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.
  6. "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". Pew Research Center. 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  7. "Religion prevails in the world" (PDF). 2017-11-14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  8. "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.


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