ITALY
Executive Summary
The constitution and other laws and policies protect religious freedom and, in
practice, the government generally respected religious freedom. The government
did not demonstrate a trend toward either improvement or deterioration in respect
for and protection of the right to religious freedom. There is no state religion;
however, due to its sovereign status and historical political authority, the Roman
Catholic Church enjoys some privileges not available to other religious groups.
There were occasional reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on
religious affiliation, belief, or practice, including incidents of anti-Semitism.
Prominent social leaders took positive steps to promote religious freedom.
The U.S. government monitored religious persecution and discrimination in the
country and promoted religious freedom by developing programs that share U.S.
best practices with a range of Italian partners, including civil society groups and
regional and municipal governments.
Section I. Religious Demography
An estimated 87 percent of native-born citizens were Roman Catholic in 2009;
however, according to an independent research institute, in 2010 only 24 percent
regularly participated in Catholic worship services. Less than 5 percent of the
population consists of members of non-Catholic Christian groups, Muslims, Jews,
Hindus, the Baha’i faith, and Buddhists. Significant Christian communities
include Christian Orthodox, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Assemblies of God, the
Confederation of Methodist and Waldensian Churches, The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and other small Protestant groups.
Immigration continued to add large groups of non-Christian residents, mainly
Muslims, from North Africa, South Asia, Albania, and the Middle East.
In 2011 there were reportedly 764 places of worship for Muslims (often officially
labeled “cultural centers” and unofficially called “garage” mosques), concentrated
in the regions of Lombardy, Veneto, Lazio, Emilia Romagna, and Tuscany.
Roughly 90 percent of Italy’s mosques are located in regions in the North, with the
remaining 10 percent concentrated in the southern regions of Calabria, Campania,
International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
ITALY 2
and Puglia. The Jewish community is estimated at 30,000 and maintains
synagogues in 21 cities.
Section II. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
The constitution and other laws and policies protect religious freedom.
The government recognizes the Holy See as a sovereign authority. Under the
concordat with the Catholic Church, the state is secular but maintains the practice
of state support for religion, which can also be extended to non-Catholic religious
groups if requested. In such cases, state support is governed by legislation
implementing the provisions of an intesa (accord) between the government and the
religious group. An intesa grants clergy automatic access to state hospitals,
prisons, and military barracks; allows for civil registry of religious marriages;
facilitates special religious practices regarding funerals; and exempts students from
school attendance on religious holidays. If a religious community so requests, an
intesa may provide for state routing of funds, through a voluntary check-off on
taxpayer returns, to that community. The absence of an intesa does not affect a
religious group’s ability to worship freely; however, the government does not
always grant the intesa privileges automatically, and a religious community
without an intesa does not benefit financially from the voluntary check-off on
taxpayer returns.
The state pays Catholic religion teachers, but this financial support is not available
to other religious communities. If a student requests a religion teacher of a non-
Catholic religious group, that group could select a representative but has to cover
the cost.
Non-Catholic groups with an intesa include the Confederation of Methodist and
Waldensian Churches, Adventists, Assemblies of God, Jews, Baptists, and
Lutherans. The government has also signed draft accords with the Buddhist
Union, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, the Apostolic Church, the Orthodox
Church of the Constantinople Patriarchate, Hindus, the Confederation of Methodist
and Waldensian Churches, and the Adventists. Negotiations remained suspended
with the Soka Gakkai, a Japanese Buddhist group.
The law provides all religious groups the right of recognition as legal entities and
the right to be granted tax-exempt status. Insults against any divinity are
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considered blasphemy, a crime punishable by a fine ranging from 51 euros ($68) to
309 euros ($413). There were no reports regarding enforcement of this law during
the year.
Holocaust denial is a crime punishable by up to four years in prison.
A 2005 antiterrorism decree, which penalized those who attempted to hide their
identity could, if enforced, affect those who choose to wear face-concealing attire
such as the niqab (a face veil) or burqa (a loose robe covering the entire body,
including the face and head); there were no restrictions on wearing the hijab
(headscarf) in public. A seldom-cited 1931 law forbids individuals from hiding
their identities, and a 1975 antiterror law requires persons to show their faces in
public for security reasons.
Missionaries and other religious workers must apply for special religious activity
visas prior to arriving in the country.
The Catholic Church has certain privileges regarding instruction in public schools.
For example, the government allows the church to select Catholic teachers, paid by
the state, to provide instruction in “hour of religion” courses taught in the public
schools. Such courses are optional, and students who do not wish to attend are free
to study other subjects or, in certain cases, to leave school early. While in the past
this instruction involved Catholic priests teaching catechism, church-selected
instructors may now be either lay or religious, and their instruction is intended to
include material relevant to non-Catholic religious groups. The law provides
funding for all private schools that meet government educational standards.
The government observes the following religious holidays as national holidays:
Epiphany, Easter Monday, Assumption of the Virgin Mary, All Saints Day,
Immaculate Conception, and Christmas.
Government Practices
There were no reports of abuses of religious freedom. The government provided
funds for the construction of places of worship, granted public land for their
construction, and helped preserve and maintain historic places of worship that
shelter much of the country’s artistic and cultural heritage.
There were occasional reports that government officials or members of the public
objected to women wearing garments that completely covered the face and body.
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On October 14, during a hearing in Turin, a judge ordered a female official
interpreter who was a Muslim to remove a veil that covered her hair, as prescribed
by law. Rather than comply, she decided to leave.
Government officials were involved in a widely covered debate over draft
legislation banning women from wearing the niqab or burqa in public. The
drafters and supporters of the legislation argued the law is a means of protecting
women’s dignity and freedom, and offers them a means of integration into society.
Many also argued the law would maintain public order and security. Opponents
argued the ban is an inappropriate imposition of legal prohibitions on cultural
traditions, and sought a compromise between what they view as respect for
security and respect for religion. The draft was passed by the constitutional affairs
commission and awaited approval by parliament at year’s end.
No Muslim group was allowed to build a mosque in 2011. Muslims in many
locations continued to encounter difficulties getting permission to construct
mosques. Although local officials usually cited other grounds for refusing building
permits, some Muslims asserted hostility toward their religion underlay the
difficulties.
On January 10, the city council of Genoa voted against a Northern League (Lega
Nord) motion blocking the construction of a mosque. The city authorized the
building of a mosque on a piece of land provided by local authorities in 2009.
In September the Northern League deputy governor of Lombardy announced the
intention to propose a regional law that would limit the construction of mosques
and would introduce the possibility of calling a referendum on new projects. Such
statements played upon public fears of Muslims and mosques and promoted the
Northern League as a party “of the people.”
In January the Northern League organized a referendum for consultation at the city
level. Allegedly 99 percent of the 5,300 voters voted against allowing the new
mosque. City of Turin officials approved plans in 2010 for a mosque that can
accommodate up to seven hundred worshipers. On October 28, the Turin
administrative court ruled that the appeal on building permits, submitted by the
Northern League on March 7, was illegal. Work has not yet commenced. Milan,
home to an estimated 100,000 Muslims, has several small “cultural centers”
informally known as “garage mosques,” but there is no true mosque within the
city.
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The continuing presence of Catholic symbols, such as crucifixes, in courtrooms,
schools, and other public buildings continued to draw criticism and led to a number
of lawsuits. On March 18, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human
Rights ruled that a crucifix is a primarily religious symbol, but its display is subject
to the discretion of the states. This overturned its prior ruling, made in 2009, that
had determined that the display of crucifixes in public schools violated the freedom
of religion and right to education.
Improvements and Positive Developments in Respect for Religious Freedom
On December 20, the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Holocaust was
inaugurated in Ferrara.
Section III. Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom
There were occasional reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on
religious affiliation, belief, or practice, but prominent societal leaders took positive
steps to promote religious freedom.
Anti-Semitic societal prejudices persisted, manifested largely by anti-Semitic
graffiti in a number of cities. Individuals and small extremist fringe groups were
responsible for anti-Semitic actions, including verbal assaults and anti-Semitic
graffiti and Web sites. On January 6, prosecutors opened an investigation on a high
school teacher in Turin, Renato Pallavidini, who was accused of inciting racial
hatred for posting a photo of Benito Mussolini, insulting comments, and threats
against Jews on his Facebook page.
In October the Italian Chamber of Deputies Committee for the Inquiry into Anti-
Semitism released a new report on anti-Semitism in the country. The report cited a
2008 study by Italy’s Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation that
estimates that 44 percent of Italians expressed attitudes and opinions “in some way
hostile to Jews” and that 12 percent are “fully fledged anti-Semites.” The report
also documented the proliferation of anti-Semitic Web sites and the tendency for
criticism of Israel to become illegitimate and anti-Semitic.
According to the Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation, in 2010 there
were more than 40 anti-Semitic Web sites. On January 18, a right wing Web site
published a list of names of Jewish university professors it accused of proselytizing
for the “Zionist cause.” Postal police promptly shut down the Web site. In
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December, a Web site targeted several well-known Italian Jews by posting their
photos alongside hateful messages. The photos were taken down after the Rome
Jewish Community reported the incident to the police. In addition the Web site
contained several anti-Semitic cartoons, conspiracy theories, and the text of The
Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Postal police promptly shut down the Web site.
The government's Office to Combat Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in the
Ministry of Equal Opportunity reported that of 799 relevant calls received in 2011,
7 percent involved discrimination based on religious belief. A large percentage
concerned episodes involving Muslims. On April 9, the police imposed a fine of
1,032 euros ($1380) on the owner of a bar in Abano Terme who refused to serve a
Moroccan claiming that the establishment was closed to all North African clients.
The incident followed a scuffle between two North Africans that occurred the day
before. A week later a reconciliation meeting took place between migrants and the
local community.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
U.S. embassy officials regularly met with the government as well as civil society
and religious groups. The embassy and consulates continued to reach out to
second-generation Muslim youth groups, providing small grants that promoted
moderate voices through new media and communication training, and participating
in exchanges for Muslim community leaders such as through the International
Visitor Leadership Program. The embassy and consulates also worked with
provincial and city government representatives, particularly in cities such as Milan,
Bologna and Reggio Emilia, to involve them in programs on religious freedom.
The exchange for Muslim youth leaders was amplified to reach a wider public
through a blog written by participants and a follow-on webchat. Through Muslim
community-focused events, such as roundtables and an Eid-al-Adha reception, the
embassy and consulates brought leaders together to promote religious tolerance.
International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
