Italy is officially a secular state. Christianity is the majority Religion followed by almost 84% of the population and  Roman Catholicism is its main branch. Legislation prevents the Italian government from tracking the religious affiliations of its citizens. Therefore, all statistics on the religious demographics of Italians are approximations.

Among Christians in Italy, Catholicism is followed by 79.20% of the population, Next comes Eastern Orthodoxy (3.5%), Protestantism  (0.3o%), and other Christians. Around 12% of the population is unaffiliated with any religion and 3.2%  identify as some other non-Christian faith. Non-Christians based faiths include Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jews, and other smaller faiths.

Due to immigration from around the world, there has been an increase in non-Christian religions. As of 2020, there were 2 million Muslims in Italy; independent estimates put the Islamic population in Italy anywhere between 1 to 3% percent of the population.

There are more than half a million followers of the faith originating in the Indian subcontinent, including some 150,000 Sikhs, 177,200 Hindus, and 257,300 Buddhists. There are an estimated 4,900 Bahá’ís in Italy.

Religion Percentage in Italy

Source: Eurobarometer

Projected Religious Demographics in Italy (2010-2050)

According to Pew Research projections, Christianity in Italy is projected to decline from 83.3% in 2010 to 72.8% by 2050, mainly due to secularization and demographic shifts. The unaffiliated population is expected to rise from 12.4% to 16.3%, indicating a slow but steady increase in religious disaffiliation. Islam is set to grow moderately, increasing from 3.7% in 2010 to 9.5% in 2050. Other religions will remain below 1%, showing minimal demographic impact.

Religious Affiliation Projections (%)

read about religion in Europe