Protestantism in Italy

Protestantism in Italy comprises a minority of the country's religious population.

The

In 2022, non-Catholic Christians made up 4% of the population,^[2] while estimates suggest that 0.65% of the country has a Protestant background.^[3]

History

The oldest known of Italy's Protestant churches, the

On 17 February 1848 Charles Albert, king of Piedmont-Sardinia, granted religious freedom and civic emancipation to the Waldensians. Freedom of worship and equality of civic and political rights were later extended to Jews and to the other Italian states that were progressively annexed to Piedmont-Sardinia during the process of unification of Italy. Newer Waldensian congregations sprang up as well as the Free Christian Church^[7] (which lasted from 1852 to 1904) and the Evangelical Christian Church of the Brethren.^[8][9] Meanwhile British and American missionaries began to preach and establish Anglican, Methodist and Baptist churches.

In the early 20th century, missionaries spread the Pentecostal gospel throughout the country. Nowadays, most of those resulting Pentecostal congregations belong to the Assemblies of God in Italy, the Federation of Pentecostal Churches, and the Apostolic Church in Italy.

The

Protestantism, especially in its Pentecostal forms, is thus on the rise. The Assemblies of God have the majority of their communities in the South[12] and, according to Caritas Italiana, in 2012 the North of Italy was home to 850 "African Neo-Pentecostal churches".^[13]

See also

• Religion in Italy
• Christianity in Italy
• Catholic Church in Italy
• List of Italian religious minority politicians
• Conference of Protestant Churches in Latin Countries of Europe
• Waldensians
• Waldensian Evangelical Church
• Peter Martyr Vermigli

References