To Index| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zealots | Israel | - | - | - | - | 30 C.E. | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 4). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970), pg. 466. Chapter author: Roland H. Bainton. | "By the time of Jesus... There were three parties among the Jews. The Sadducees were willing to collaborate with the occupying power, the Zealots fomented rebellion, and the Pharisees would neither fraternize nor rebel but kept the law and waited for vindication at the hands of God. " |
| Zealots | Israel | - | - | - | - | 66 C.E. | *LINK* Hexham, Irving. Concise Dictionary of Religion. Carol Stream, USA: InterVarsity Press (1994). (v. online 6 Oct. 1999) | "ZEALOTS: a JEWISH SECT founded by Judas of Galilee to resist the Roman annexation of Judaea. After their initial revolt was crushed, they resorted to guerilla warfare against the Romans and those they saw a collaborators. They were finally destroyed after the Jewish revolt of 66 A.D. " |
| Zealots | Israel | - | - | - | - | 70 C.E. | Oxtoby, Willard G. The Meaning of Other Faiths. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press (1983), pg. 25. | "A fourth option, and a very political one, was the path of guerrilla resistance aimed at ousting the Romans from Palestine... The guerrilla party (the Zealots) apparently scored enough successes to irritate and ultimately infuriate the Romans, but they had taken on too mighty an adversary. When the Romans, who had little taste for insubordination, put their attention to it, they utterly crushed the Zealot movement. Jerusalem was besieged, the Temple and Qumran were destroyed... " |
| Zealots | Israel | - | - | - | - | 73 C.E. | Jacobs, Louis. Oxford Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (1999), pg. 316. | "Zealots: Jewish freedom-fighters in the War against Rome (66-73 CE. Josephus in The Jewish War refers to the Zealots together with other rebels against the Roman occupation. The Mishnah (Sanhedrin 9:6) refers to the Zealots as Kannaim, a Hebrew word with the same connotation, and generally in the Rabbinic literature an ambivalent attitude emerges towards these rebels. Modern scholarship discusses at length the relationship between the Zealots, the Sicaii ('dagger men'), other rebels against Rome, and the Qumran sectarians, a question much discussed nowadays. In later Jewish literature, the term Kannaim is applied to zealots of every description who use questionable means in their fights against those they consider to be enemies of God or the Jewish religion. Jacob Emden, for example, was proud to call himself kannai ben kannai ('a zealot son of a zealot') in his struggle against the followers of Shabbetai Zevi. " |
| Zealots | Israel | - | - | - | - | 135 C.E. | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally published as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 821. | "Zealots. Usually identified with the Jewish freedom fighters who led the first war against Rome in A.D. 67-68... The Zealots more or less disappeared with the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70) an Masada (A.D. 73), only to reappear in the messianic followes of Bar Kochba in A.D. 132-35. " |
| miscellaneous regional info | Israel | - | - | - | - | 1986 | Jones, Helen Hinckley. Israel (series: Enchantment of the World). Chicago: Childrens Press (1986), pg. 63-64. | "Haifa is the world center of the Baha'i faith. The Baha'is believe that some day there will be one religion... Israel has accepted the Baha'is' freedom to worship. In Haifa, the Baha'is have built a shrine with a golden dome over the grave of their founder... " |
| Christianity | Israel - Arabs | - | 20.00% | - | - | 1972 | Hoffman, Gail. The Land and People of Israel (series: Portaits of the Nations Series). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. (1972, revised edition), pg. 63. | "At present, 70% of the Israeli Arabs are Moslems, 20% Christian, and 10% Druze. " |
| Christianity | Israel - Arabs | 92,400 | 14.00% | - | - | 1988 | Bratvold, Gretchen (ed). Israel ...in Pictures (Visual Geography Series). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications Co. (1988), pg. 48. | "Of the Arab population, 78% are Muslim, 14% are Christian, and 8% are Druze... " |
| Christianity | Israel - Arabs | 152,000 | 8.00% | - | - | 1994 | Lindsey, Hal. Planet Earth - 2000 A.D.. Palos Verdes, California: Western Front, Ltd. (1994), pg. 178. | "About 1.9 million Arabs live within the bordres of Israel. About 92% of them are Sunni Muslims, while the other 8% are Christian. But that minority is shrinking all the time--victims of harassment and persecution by the Muslim majority. " |
| Druze | Israel - Arabs | - | 10.00% | - | - | 1972 | Hoffman, Gail. The Land and People of Israel (series: Portaits of the Nations Series). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. (1972, revised edition), pg. 63. | "At present, 70% of the Israeli Arabs are Moslems, 20% Christian, and 10% Druze. " |
| Druze | Israel - Arabs | 52,800 | 8.00% | - | - | 1988 | Bratvold, Gretchen (ed). Israel ...in Pictures (Visual Geography Series). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications Co. (1988), pg. 48. | "Of the Arab population, 78% are Muslim, 14% are Christian, and 8% are Druze... " |
| Islam | Israel - Arabs | - | 70.00% | - | - | 1972 | Hoffman, Gail. The Land and People of Israel (series: Portaits of the Nations Series). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. (1972, revised edition), pg. 63. | "At present, 70% of the Israeli Arabs are Moslems, 20% Christian, and 10% Druze. " |
| Islam | Israel - Arabs | 514,800 | 78.00% | - | - | 1988 | Bratvold, Gretchen (ed). Israel ...in Pictures (Visual Geography Series). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications Co. (1988), pg. 48. | "Of the Arab population, 78% are Muslim, 14% are Christian, and 8% are Druze... " |
| Islam | Israel - Arabs | 1,748,000 | 92.00% | - | - | 1994 | Lindsey, Hal. Planet Earth - 2000 A.D.. Palos Verdes, California: Western Front, Ltd. (1994), pg. 178. | "About 1.9 million Arabs live within the bordres of Israel. About 92% of them are Sunni Muslims, while the other 8% are Christian. But that minority is shrinking all the time--victims of harassment and persecution by the Muslim majority. " |
| Sunni | Israel - Arabs | 1,748,000 | 92.00% | - | - | 1994 | Lindsey, Hal. Planet Earth - 2000 A.D.. Palos Verdes, California: Western Front, Ltd. (1994), pg. 178. | "About 1.9 million Arabs live within the bordres of Israel. About 92% of them are Sunni Muslims, while the other 8% are Christian. But that minority is shrinking all the time--victims of harassment and persecution by the Muslim majority. " |
| Christianity - born-again | Israel - Jews | 50 | - | - | - | 1985 | Barnhart, Joe Edward. The Southern Baptist Holy War. Austin, Texas: Texas Monthly Press (1986), pg. 173. [original source Homer Duncan, "The Fields Are White, " The Southern Baptist Journal, 13:1 (Jan./Feb. 1985), p. 20.] | "In Israel, only one in 60,000 Jews is a born-again Christian. " [Other sources indicate 3 million Jews in Israel in 1985. This would equate to 50 born-again Christian Jews.] |
| Christianity | Israel: Bethlehem | - | 50.00% | - | - | 1986 | Jones, Helen Hinckley. Israel (series: Enchantment of the World). Chicago: Childrens Press (1986), pg. 64. | "Bethlehem... The town is half Christian and half Muslim now... " |
| Islam | Israel: Bethlehem | - | 50.00% | - | - | 1986 | Jones, Helen Hinckley. Israel (series: Enchantment of the World). Chicago: Childrens Press (1986), pg. 64. | "Bethlehem... The town is half Christian and half Muslim now... " |
| Druze | Israel: Golan Heights | 16,000 | - | - | - | 1993 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: 8/7/93 issue of GLOBAL PRAYER DIGEST); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | The Druze are a close-knit religious group with an estimated population of 300,000 to 450,000. Most of them live in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, but 16,000 reside in the Golan Heights of Israel. |
| Hospitalers | Israel: Jerusalem | - | - | - | - | 1070 C.E. | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 328. | "Hospitalers (Christian). The Knights Hospitalers of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, known after 1310 as the Knights of Rhodes and after 1530 as the Knights of Malta. Originally founded at Jerusalem (ca. 1070) to care for those on pilgramages or crusades, the order became militarized and, with the Knights Templars, furnished the Kingdom of Jerusalem with a permanent armed force. " |
| Judaism | Israel: Jerusalem | 10,000 | - | - | - | 1845 | Feldman, Egal. Dual Destinies: The Jewish Encounter with Protestant America; Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press (1990), pg. 94. | "Jerusalem alone counted 10,000 Jews in 1845, prompting the contemporary admission 'that the number of Jews now in Jerusalem is greater than at any other period in modern times.' " |
| Judaism | Israel: Jerusalem | 298,000 | - | - | - | 1982 | Charing, Douglas. The Jewish World. London, UK: Silver Burdett Co. (1983), pg. 14. | Graphic "City population comparisons "; New York: 1,998,000; Los Angeles: 455,000; Paris: 380,000; Tel Aviv: 335,000; Jerusalem: 298,000; Moscow: 285,000; Buenos Aires: 250,000 " |
| Karaites | Israel: Jerusalem | 80 | - | 1 unit |
- | 1982 | Ross, Dan. Acts of Faith: A Journey to the Fringes of Jewish Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press (1982), pg. 125. | "About twenty Karaite families live in Jerusalem today. Their synagogue, supposedly nine hundred years old... was destroyed in the 1948 battle for Jerusalem... restored synagogue was dedicated in 1978. " |
| Mashhadi Jews | Israel: Jerusalem | - | - | 2 units |
- | 1982 | Ross, Dan. Acts of Faith: A Journey to the Fringes of Jewish Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press (1982), pg. 76. | "One of their communities was founded for not economic, but religios reasons: Jerusalem's... They built two synagogues in the Bukharan Quarter which are still in use today, and their own cemetary on the Mount of Olives. " |
| Mashhadi Jews | Israel: Jerusalem | - | - | 2 units |
- | 1982 | Ross, Dan. Acts of Faith: A Journey to the Fringes of Jewish Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press (1982), pg. 80. | "Most Israeli Mashhadis live in or near Tel Aviv... In addition to the two old synagogues in Jerusalem, they now have four in Tel Aviv and one each in the nearby cities of Herzliya and B'nei Brak. " |
| miscellaneous regional info | Israel: Jerusalem | - | - | - | - | 1983 | Charing, Douglas. The Jewish World. London, UK: Silver Burdett Co. (1983), pg. 38. | "Most of Israel's citizens are Jews, but 15% of them are non-Jews, and that includes Muslims, Christians, Samaritans, Druze and Baha'i. Jerusalem, of course, is a very important religious centre for Christians and Muslims as well as Jews, and the city contains many churches and mosques as well as synagogues. " |
| Samaritans | Israel: Nablus | 250 | - | - | - | 1981 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 647. | "Samaritans. Descendants of the original inhabitants of biblical Samaria, estroyed in 722 B.C., who claim to be a remnant of the northern tribes of Israel. More than half of the few hundred survivors of this grop live in the city of Nablus, close to their sacred mountain, Gerizim, on the West Bank of the Jordan. " |
| Samaritans | Israel: Nablus | 250 | - | 1 unit |
- | 1982 | Ross, Dan. Acts of Faith: A Journey to the Fringes of Jewish Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press (1982), pg. 99. | "Five hundred Samaritans survive today... About half of them still live in Nablus; the other half live in the Tel Aviv suburb Holon. " |
| Islam | Israel: Nazareth | - | 70.00% | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Fletcher, Elaine (RNS). "Tensions Threaten Nazareth's Millennium Festivities " in Salt Lake Tribune, 16 Oct. 1999 (v. online). | "'Muslims today are 70 percent of the city's residents, and we want to be able to give our population the basic services, schools, hospitals... and mosques that they deserve,' said Muslim leader Ahmed Zuabi, sitting in a corner of the tent as the prayers got under way. 'Look at what the Christians in this city can claim,' added Zuabi, a city council member, gesturing toward the basilica. 'They have dozens of institutions and some 750 acres of land. We, in comparison, have almost nothing.' " |
| Karaites | Israel: Ramla | 3,000 | - | 2 units |
- | 1982 | Ross, Dan. Acts of Faith: A Journey to the Fringes of Jewish Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press (1982), pg. 140. | "there are now Karaites living in nearly every Israeli city. Their largest community is in Ramla, where about 3,000 Karaites make their home. That city has two Karaite synagogues, including the large central synagogue with a community center under construction next door. " |
| Judaism | Israel: Tel Aviv | 335,000 | - | - | - | 1982 | Charing, Douglas. The Jewish World. London, UK: Silver Burdett Co. (1983), pg. 14. | Graphic "City population comparisons "; New York: 1,998,000; Los Angeles: 455,000; Paris: 380,000; Tel Aviv: 335,000; Jerusalem: 298,000; Moscow: 285,000; Buenos Aires: 250,000 " |
| Mashhadi Jews | Israel: Tel Aviv | - | - | 4 units |
- | 1982 | Ross, Dan. Acts of Faith: A Journey to the Fringes of Jewish Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press (1982), pg. 80. | "Most Israeli Mashhadis live in or near Tel Aviv... In addition to the two old synagogues in Jerusalem, they now have four in Tel Aviv and one each in the nearby cities of Herzliya and B'nei Brak. " |
| Samaritans | Israel: Tel Aviv | 250 | - | 1 unit |
- | 1982 | Ross, Dan. Acts of Faith: A Journey to the Fringes of Jewish Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press (1982), pg. 99. | "Five hundred Samaritans survive today... About half of them still live in Nablus; the other half live in the Tel Aviv suburb Holon. " |
| Assemblies of God | Italy | 200,000 | - | - | - | 1995 | "LDS Prospects in Italy for the Twenty-first Century " in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Spring 1996), pg. 153. | |
| attendance - regular | Italy | - | 70.00% | - | - | 1955 | Foster, Leila Merrell. Italy (series: Modern Nations of the World). San Diego, CA: Lucent Books (1999), pg. 69. | "These changes show that Italy has was becoming more of a secular society... Regular attendance at church is estimated to have dropped from about 70% in the mid-1950s to 30% in the 1980s. " |
| attendance - regular | Italy | - | 30.00% | - | - | 1985 | Foster, Leila Merrell. Italy (series: Modern Nations of the World). San Diego, CA: Lucent Books (1999), pg. 69. | "These changes show that Italy has was becoming more of a secular society... Regular attendance at church is estimated to have dropped from about 70% in the mid-1950s to 30% in the 1980s. " |
| attendance - weekly | Italy | - | 45.00% | - | - | 1991 | *LINK* web site: "The University of Michigan News and Information Services "; web page: "Study identifies worldwide rates of religiosity, church attendance " (viewed 17 April 1999). "News Release: December 10, 1997 " By Diane Swanbrow. | Table: weekly church attendance in various nations. "Source: Based on latest avail. data from... World Values surveys. Results with an asterisk are from the 1990-1991 survey; all others are from 1995-1997 survey. " |
| attendance - weekly | Italy | - | 5.00% | - | - | 1996 | Gallagher, Winifred. Working on God. New York: Random House (1999), pg. 17. [Orig. source: George H. Gallup, Jr. Religion in America (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Religion Research Center, 1996).] | "Forty percent of Americans attend services weekly--an astounding rate when contrasted with the United Kingdom's 2 percent, say, or Italy's 5 percent. " |
| Baptist Evangelical Christian Union of Italy | Italy | 4,622 | - | 100 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Baptist World Alliance web site; page: "BWA Statistics " (viewed 31 March 1999). | "Figures are for BWA affiliated conventions/unions only (no independents included). "; Table with 3 columns: Country, "Churches ", & "Members "; "1997/1998 Totals " |
| Baptist World Alliance | Italy | 4,622 | 0.01% | 100 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Baptist World Alliance web site; page: "BWA Statistics " (viewed 31 March 1999). | "Figures are for BWA affiliated conventions/unions only (no independents included). "; Table with 3 columns: Country, "Churches ", & "Members "; "1997/1998 Totals "; [BWA stats. in individual countries are sum of figures for member bodies of BWA in the countries.]; [County population figures for 1998 from United Nations data available here.] |
| Buddhism | Italy | 23,000 | - | - | - | 1995 | "LDS Prospects in Italy for the Twenty-first Century " in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Spring 1996), pg. 153. | |
| Catholic | Italy | - | 95.00% | - | - | 1929 | Keefe, Eugene K., et al. Area Handbook for Italy (1st Ed.). Washington, D.C.: Foreign Area Studies of The American University (1977; research completed 1976), pg. 74. | "Church-state relations were normalized with the negotiation of the Lateran Pacts of 1929... The state desired the tacit support of the church in a country where over 95% of the population professed Catholicism... " |
| Catholic | Italy | - | 97.12% | - | - | 1950 | *LINK* web site: Secular Web (1 Jan. 1999); web page: "The Lies And Fallacies Of The Encyclopedia Britanica How Powerful And Shameless Clerical Forces Castrated A Famous Work Of Reference " by Joseph McCabe (who died 1955); "Copyright Internet Infidels 1995-1998. " | "The historical section of the article "Italy " -- a country which is described as 97.12 percent Catholics even now that Communists and Socialists dominate it -- ought to have been revised... " |
| Catholic | Italy | - | 90.00% | - | - | 1965 | Greeley, Andrew M. The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1990), pg. 268. | "Catholics continue to be approximately the same proportion of the population in all five countries that they were twenty years ago--nine-tenths in Italy, two-fifths in the BRD [West Germany], a quarter in the United States and Australia, and a tenth in Britain. " |
| Catholic | Italy | 54,320,000 | 97.00% | - | - | 1976 | Keefe, Eugene K., et al. Area Handbook for Italy (1st Ed.). Washington, D.C.: Foreign Area Studies of The American University (1977; research completed 1976), pg. 73. | "Religon has always been a prime unifying force among the Italian people. Italy is almost wholley Roman Catholic; according to the Catholic Almanac, 1976 the proportion is as high as 97% of the country's population. " |
| Catholic | Italy | - | - | 29,764 units |
- | 1976 | Keefe, Eugene K., et al. Area Handbook for Italy (1st Ed.). Washington, D.C.: Foreign Area Studies of The American University (1977; research completed 1976), pg. 75. | "In 1976 there were 29,764 parishes in Italy. Parish size varied. A rural parish could include as few as 500 people; urban parishes could have as many as 40,000. There were 41,816 diocesan clergy to serve the various clergy. " |
| Catholic | Italy | 54,320,000 | 97.00% | - | - | 1976 | Keefe, Eugene K., et al. Area Handbook for Italy (1st Ed.). Washington, D.C.: Foreign Area Studies of The American University (1977; research completed 1976), pg. vii. | "Population: Estimated at about 56 million in January 1976... Religion: Estimated at 97% Roman Catholic. " |
| Catholic | Italy | - | 90.00% | - | - | 1985 | Greeley, Andrew M. The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1990), pg. 268. | "Catholics continue to be approximately the same proportion of the population in all five countries that they were twenty years ago--nine-tenths in Italy, two-fifths in the BRD [West Germany], a quarter in the United States and Australia, and a tenth in Britain. " |
| Catholic | Italy | - | 83.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994) pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Catholic | Italy | - | 97.00% | - | - | 1992 | Wolff, Michael. Where We Stand: Can America Make it in the Global Race for Wealth, Health, and Happiness? Bantam Books: New York (1992). Pg. 204-205. | Chart |
| Catholic | Italy | 55,599,000 | 97.20% | 25,769 units |
- | 1995 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997), pg. 333-367. | Figures are as of Dec. 31, 1995. Number used for "congregations " is from number of Catholic parishes. |
| Catholic | Italy | 47,780,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
| Catholic | Italy | 55,693,896 | 98.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%; Total population: 56,830,508. |
| Catholic | Italy | 55,916,000 | - | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* Zenit. "DOSSIER: BRAZIL AND MEXICO HAVE LARGEST NUMBER OF CATHOLICS " on "Zenit News Agency " web site (online Catholic news); Archives: 13 June 1999 (ZE99061302). (Viewed 19 June 1999). | "The country in the world with the largest number of Catholics is Brazil... followed by Mexico... the Philippines... the United States, with 58,078 million, and Italy, with 55,916 million. These are some of the figures given in the latest edition of the Church's Statistical Yearbook for 1997... " |
| Catholic | Italy | 56,430,000 | 99.00% | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 160-161. | "Location: Italy; Population: About 57 million "; "Italy is an overwhelmingly Catholic country: 99% of Italians describe themselves as Roman Catholics, although the extent and nature of religious observance vary widely. It is estimated that only about one-third of Italian Catholics attend mass regularly. " |
| Catholic | Italy | - | 78.50% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions "; total population: 57,592,000 |
| Catholic | Italy | - | 98.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* web site: "Wholesome Words: Worldwide Missions " by Stephen Ross, "First Edition, 1998 "; [original sources: The World Book Encyclopedia, c1998.] | Table: "Major Roman Catholic Countries of the World " |
| Catholic | Italy | 47,725,000 | 83.00% | - | - | 1999 | Bonomi, Kathryn. Italy (series: Major World Nations). Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers (1999), pg. 9-10. | "Population: 57.5 million... Religions: Roman Catholic, 83%; other, 17% (includes 16% nonreligious and atheist and 1% other religions) " |
| Catholic | Italy | - | 80.00% | - | - | 1999 | Foster, Leila Merrell. Italy (series: Modern Nations of the World). San Diego, CA: Lucent Books (1999), pg. 15. | "While 80% of all Italians state that they are Roman Catholics, religious minorities (mostly Protestant, Muslim, and Jewish) are guaranteed freedom of worship. " |
| Catholic | Italy | - | 80.00% | - | - | 1999 | Foster, Leila Merrell. Italy (series: Modern Nations of the World). San Diego, CA: Lucent Books (1999), pg. 72. | "The Roman Catholic Church has influence on the lives of the 80% of Italians estimated to be members. Even many Italians allied with the Communist Party send their children to church on Sunday. However, Italians voted against following church teachings on questions such as divorce and abortion. These votes are another signal of the decline in the influence of the church... Despite the weakening influence of Roman Catholicism, for many Italians it remains a valued link to the past and a way of expressing present needs. " |
| Catholic - attend at least monthly | Italy | - | 47.70% | - | - | 1985 | Greeley, Andrew M. The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1990), pg. 266, 269. | Pg. 266: "using the ISV [International Study of Values, 1981] and ISSP [International Social Survey Project, 1985] surveys... "; Pg. 269: "...proportion of men & women over 35 who attend Mass at least once a month... Belgium, 60%; Italy, 53%... " [Italy: 53% * est. 90% of pop. which is Catholic = 47.7% of total pop. attending mass monthly] |
| Catholic - attend regularly | Italy | 18,621,900 | 32.67% | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 160-161. | "Location: Italy; Population: About 57 million "; "Italy is an overwhelmingly Catholic country: 99% of Italians describe themselves as Roman Catholics, although the extent and nature of religious observance vary widely. It is estimated that only about one-third of Italian Catholics attend mass regularly. " |
| Catholic - attend regularly | Italy | 17,250,000 | 30.00% | - | - | 1999 | Bonomi, Kathryn. Italy (series: Major World Nations). Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers (1999), pg. 113. | "Although 83% of Italians call themselves Catholics, only 30% attend mass regularly. " |
| Catholic - bishops | Italy | 501 | - | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* Zenit. "DOSSIER: BRAZIL AND MEXICO HAVE LARGEST NUMBER OF CATHOLICS " on "Zenit News Agency " web site (online Catholic news); Archives: 13 June 1999 (ZE99061302). (Viewed 19 June 1999). | "...figures given in the latest edition of the Church's Statistical Yearbook for 1997... Italy is the country with the greatest number of bishops (501). " |
| Catholic - Cistercian | Italy | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1120 C.E. | Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. (1977), pg. 145. | "...Cistercians soon reached a position of unrivaled influence in the Church at large. By 1120 they moved into Italy, by 1123 to Germany, by 1128 to England, by 1132 to Spain, and by 1142 to Ireland, Poland, and Hungary. " |
| Catholic - priests | Italy | 55,499 | - | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* Zenit. "DOSSIER: BRAZIL AND MEXICO HAVE LARGEST NUMBER OF CATHOLICS " on "Zenit News Agency " web site (online Catholic news); Archives: 13 June 1999 (ZE99061302). (Viewed 19 June 1999). | "...figures given in the latest edition of the Church's Statistical Yearbook for 1997... Italy also has the largest number of priests (55,499) and women religious (114,775)... " |
| Chiesa Evangelica Mennonita Italiana | Italy | 189 | - | 7 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Mennonite World Conference web site. Directory 1998. Web page: "Europe: Mennonite & Brethren in Christ Churches " | ITALY: Chiesa Evangelica Mennonita Italiana; Members: 189; Congregations: 7 |
| Christianity | Italy | 47,690,000 | - | - | - | 1997 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything, DK Publishing, Inc.: New York (1997), pg. 160-161. | List: "Top 10 Largest Christian Populations in the World "; (Rank: 7) |
| Christianity | Italy | 47,406,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything 1999. New York: DK Publishing (1998), pg. 76. | Table: "Top 10 Largest Christian Populations in the World "; Rank: #7 |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Italy | 39 | - | - | - | 1852 | Cowan, Richard O. & Bruce A. Van Orden. The International Church: Readings for Religion C344; Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University (Fall 1992), pg. 62. | "By the end of 1852 39 had joined the Church. 53 were added in the next year. " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Italy | 92 | - | - | - | 1853 | Cowan, Richard O. & Bruce A. Van Orden. The International Church: Readings for Religion C344; Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University (Fall 1992), pg. 62. | |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Italy | 16,000 | - | - | - | 1995 | "LDS Prospects in Italy for the Twenty-first Century " in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Spring 1996), pg. 153. | |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Italy | 17,000 | 0.03% | 118 units |
- | 1996 | Deseret News 1997-98 Church Almanac. Deseret News: Salt Lake City, UT (1996), pg. 188-408. | "Year-end 1996: Est. population [of country]; Members, [number shown in '# of adherents' column to left] " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Italy | 18,000 | 0.03% | 127 units |
- | 1997 | Deseret News 1999-2000 Church Almanac. Deseret News: Salt Lake City, UT (1998), pg. 267-410. | Information from a variety of sources. Figures for year-end 1997. |
| Church of the Nazarene | Italy | 513 | - | 9 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* official organization web site: Nazarene World Mission Society | Church Statistics: Churches; 8 Jan. 1998; total population: 57,592,000 |
