Religion in Italy today

Research from the Università Cattolica has revealed that the Catholic Church is undergoing strong criticism at this time, from within and without. Although the Catholic religion is still the one most followed in Italy (for historical, cultural and social reasons) it was noted that an increasing number of people no longer feel the Church represents them or offers them what they need.

Esoteric habits and practices are increasing, like the use of horoscopes and the proliferation of sects and foreign religions such as Buddhism. Although a strong vision of ‘solidarity’ is widespread in Italy, it is no longer the monopoly of the Church. A considerable number of charities and Not-For-Profit organisations have no religious basis or bias but they attract and involve a huge number of people. Intolerance of immigrants is on the increase amongst Catholic believers, despite the ‘universal vision’ put forward by the Church and its efforts to stimulate dialogue and tolerance between the different religions.

Even the Church’s decrees on abortion, divorce and birth control seem to be scarcely heeded by Churchgoers in the new cultural frame that is more inclined to a ‘personal religion.’ Sometimes the sexual and ethical decrees are openly contested.

Despite this the Catholic Church still plays an important role in this time of ‘value crisis’ in Italian society. It represents a ‘tenet’ in a time now when families are more fragile and divided than they were in the past. As ever, it provides a refuge in times of pain or sickness: more than 40% of Italians pray every day and 83% pray at least once a year.

Religious habits are undergoing a change, even in the sense of popular religion. A common and typical trend is to be devoted to either a particular saint or to a charismatic character, and this is even becoming popular with the upper classes. For example, devotion towards the friar ‘Padre Pio da Pietrelcina’ – whom the Church had considered unfavourable during his lifetime – is now popular. The Church was pushed to declare him a Saint in recognition of the hundreds of miracles attributed to him and in answer to the huge and widespread devotion to him by many Italians and foreigners.

The Roman Catholic Church remains steadfast however despite its slowly waning popularity. Confident in its millennia of experience it is now confronting terrible scandals of paedophilia with its usual ability to minimise the bad facts and maximise the good ones.

The Roman Catholic Church isn’t a monolithic organisation though as it actually reflects the diverse positions held within Italian society. There are priests engaged in public battles for the right to get married without being expelled; missionaries that are strongly critical of the wealth of the Vatican; and ‘fighting’ priests who openly support extreme left wing anti-capitalist organisations. The stance of Italian Catholics is more fluid than might appear at first sight or might be expected.

Nobody can foretell how the Pope and the most influential cardinals will react or adapt in the future to the challenges of our modern and increasingly complex lives, but we can be reassured by reminding ourselves that the Catholic Church has survived many a deep crisis in its long history to continue into the twenty first century intact.