Editing Demographics of Italy (section)

===Christianity===
The Italian Catholic Church is part of the global Roman Catholic Church, under the leadership of the Pope, [[curia]] in Rome, and the [[Conference of Italian Bishops]]. In addition to Italy, two other sovereign nations are included in Italian-based dioceses, [[San Marino]] and [[Vatican City]]. There are 225 dioceses in the Italian Catholic Church, see further in this article and in the article [[List of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Italy]]. Even though by law Vatican City is not part of Italy, it is in Rome, and along with [[Latin]], Italian is the most spoken and second language of the [[Roman Curia]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1066140.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Country profile: Vatican|date=26 October 2009|access-date=5 May 2010}}</ref>

Italy has a rich [[Catholic culture]], especially as numerous Catholic [[saint]]s, [[martyr]]s and popes were Italian themselves. Roman Catholic art in Italy especially flourished during the [[Middle Ages]], [[Renaissance]] and [[Baroque]] periods, with numerous Italian artists, such as [[Michelangelo]], [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Raphael]], [[Caravaggio]], [[Fra Angelico]], [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]], [[Sandro Botticelli]], [[Tintoretto]], [[Titian]] and [[Giotto]]. Roman Catholic architecture in Italy is equally as rich and impressive, with churches, basilicas and cathedrals such as [[St Peter's Basilica]], [[Florence Cathedral]] and [[St Mark's Basilica]]. Roman Catholicism is the largest religion and denomination in Italy, with around 71.1% of Italians considering themselves Catholic. Italy is also home to the greatest number of [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]]s in the world,<ref>{{cite web|authorlink=Salvador Miranda (historian) |last=Miranda |first=Salvador |title= Living cardinals arranged by country|url=https://cardinals.fiu.edu/countrynow.htm#Top|work=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church |publisher=[[Florida International University]]|oclc=53276621}}</ref> and is the country with the greatest number of Roman Catholic churches per capita.<ref name="kwintessential.co.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/italy-country-profile.html |title=Italy – Italian Language, Culture, Customs and Business Etiquette |publisher=Kwintessential.co.uk |access-date=2 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812211310/http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/italy-country-profile.html |archive-date=12 August 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Santa Maria del Fiore.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Santa Maria del Fiore]] cathedral in [[Florence]], which has the biggest brick dome in the world,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tripleman.com/index.php?showimage=737 |title=The Duomo of Florence {{pipe}} Tripleman |publisher=tripleman.com |access-date=25 March 2010 |archive-date=6 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091206202243/http://www.tripleman.com/index.php?showimage=737 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brunelleschisdome.com/ |title=brunelleschi's dome – Brunelleschi's Dome |publisher=Brunelleschisdome.com |access-date=25 March 2010}}</ref> and is considered a masterpiece of Italian architecture.]]

Even though the main Christian denomination in Italy is Roman Catholicism, there are some minorities of [[Protestant]], [[Waldensian]], [[Eastern Orthodox]] and other Christian churches.

Immigration from [[Western Africa|Western]], [[Central Africa|Central]], and Eastern Africa at the beginning of the 21st century has increased the size of [[Baptist]], [[Anglicanism|Anglican]], Pentecostal and Evangelical communities in Italy, while immigration from Eastern Europe has produced large Eastern Orthodox communities.

In 2006, Protestants made up 2.1% of Italy's population, and members of Eastern Orthodox churches comprised 1.2% or more than 700,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians including 180,000 [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]],<ref>[http://www.ortodossia.it/The%20Holy%20Orthodox%20Archdiocese%20of%20Italy%20ed%20Malta.htm The Holy Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305214703/http://www.ortodossia.it/The%20Holy%20Orthodox%20Archdiocese%20of%20Italy%20ed%20Malta.htm |date=5 March 2009}}</ref> 550,000 Pentecostals and Evangelists (0.8%), of whom 400,000 are members of the [[Assemblies of God]], about 250,000 are [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] (0.4%),<ref>{{cite book|title=2015 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses|publisher=Watch Tower Society|page=182}}</ref> 30,000 [[Waldensians]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chiesavaldese.org/pages/storia/dove_viviamo.php|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211233818/http://www.chiesavaldese.org/pages/storia/dove_viviamo.php|url-status=dead|title=Waldensian Evangelical Church|archivedate=11 February 2006}}</ref> 25,000 [[Seventh-day Adventists]], 22,000 Mormons, 15,000 Baptists (plus some 5,000 Free Baptists), 7,000 [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], 4,000 [[Methodists]] (affiliated with the Waldensian Church).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/europe/italy/evangelical-methodist-church-in-italy.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325172232/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/europe/italy/evangelical-methodist-church-in-italy.html|url-status=dead|title=World Council of Churches|archivedate=25 March 2013}}</ref>