Political and Religion in Italy. Religion & Theology Term Paper (Term Paper Sample)

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Religion and Politics in Italy
Religion is an integral part of politics in Italy. The Roman Catholic Church is the most prevalent denomination in Italy. However, there are other religious groups in Italy such as evangelical Protestants, Muslims, Jehovah Witnesses, Waldensian Evangelical Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Jews (Ferrari & Silvio, p. 431). Despite the national census failure to disclose the people’s religious affiliations, it is evident that the Catholic religion is popular in Italy. The available status on religion in Italy is reliable but somehow contradictory. For instance, while 90% of the students take Catholic classes in school, only 40% of the taxpayers remit part of their income tax to the Catholic Church. Despite the contradiction, it is evident that the Catholic has the power to influence the politics in Italy.
The Catholic Church has greatly influenced the performance of political institutions and the religious laws formed by the progressive governments (Ferrari & Silvio, p. 434). For instance, the position of the Catholic Church influenced King Charles Albert 1 to introduce a constitution that described Catholic as the state religion in the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, Later, and the statute became operational when Italy became the United Kingdom until the year 1948. Nevertheless, progressive governments discerned how to reduce the impacts of the Catholic Church on the state institutions. The liberal governments in the new state created after the Confederacy of Italy in 1860 and 1870 allowed practices that went against the Catholic Church believes.