Italy
Religious beliefs in Italy
Roman Catholicism is the largest religion in the country with about 84% of Italians identifying themselves as Roman Catholic although only about one-third of these are active members. The Catholic Church also plays a role in the nation's political affairs because of the Holy See's location in Rome.
Other Christian groups in Italy include Eastern Orthodox Christians (1.2%), Greek Orthodox, Pentecostals and Evangelicals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Waldensians, Seventh-day Adventists, Mormons, Baptists, Lutherans and Methodists.
The country's oldest religious minority is the Jewish community but because of large-scale immigration from other parts of the world, there are sizable populations of Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus as well.
