Religions and languages in Italy

The official language of the republic is Italian. It should be noted that this linguistic unit is actively used by representatives of other countries, including Switzerland and Argentina. Also of wide distribution are all kinds of dialects of this ancient language, for example, idioms. Between each other, these linguistic forms, of course, have much in common. However, their differences are so significant that often the bearers of certain dialects simply cannot understand each other. Statistics show that more than 42 million people today are native speakers of this language. Different dialects of the main language of Italy can be met in various Mediterranean countries. The most famous dialect is the Lombard dialect.

No less popular is Sardinian. It consists of several dialects, whose speakers reside in different territories. It originated from the same area. Over time, it was never recognized as the official language of the country, although it is spoken by more than one million, five hundred thousand residents. According to its linguistic structure, it is very close to the Friulian and Catalan languages. This is due to the specific territorial distribution of the speaking population. If you believe the statistics, then the third most common language in Italy is the Friulian language. Its speakers, as it follows from the name, reside in the region with the same name. The native speakers of this language are more than seven hundred thousand people. Even in this case, no official rights were granted to the language. It should be noted that the phonetics of this language is quite complex, therefore there is no dialect of the Friulian language in the world.

German and its Tyrolean, Bavarian, and Carinthian dialects are considered the most common languages ​​in Italy. They are spoken by less than three hundred thousand people. It is worth noting that due to the complexity and various phonetic nuances of these dialects, they can rarely be met anywhere else in the world. As for the religious situation, like in any other multinational country, there are representatives of different faiths in Italy. The Church in Italy is not fixed as a state structure, but in spite of this, it nevertheless exerts sufficient influence on all areas of social life the kingdom. In addition, historically, the Italians have become very responsible about religion. A huge number of monasteries and churches, dioceses and other religious structures operate within the territory of the country. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

One of the most common religions is Catholicism. The official state religion in Italy is Roman Catholic. There are even separate Catholic schools for children. Also worth noting is the fact that various directions of Christianity also operate within the country, including groups of non-Roman Catholics and the Greek Catholic Church. About 60,000 believers define themselves as Protestants. Pentecostals accounts for no more than 30,000 locals. More than 450 thousand locals consider themselves adherents of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Please note that in the past few decades a lot of migrants have come to Italy. In connection with this, the number of Orthodox Christians has increased and, currently, is about one million people. Also in the country, there are three schools of Buddhism that operate simultaneously. Today, the parishioners of this faith are more than sixty thousand.

If you believe in archaeological excavations, the presence of Jews in the territory of modern Italy dates back even to the first century of our era. This is why Judaism still occupies an important spot on the territory of the country. At the same time, the locals could openly profess this religion only from the nineteenth century. It was precisely during this time that the country had the first synagogue. To date, the number of Jews has declined to 15,000. Religious statistics are disappointing. Italy has become one of the European countries where the share of Christians has decreased significantly, as well as adherents of other faiths. This is because the new generation renounces religion. In spite of this, even atheists regularly attend church during all great religious holidays such as Christmas or Easter. In this they see not so much religious act as the historically established family traditions.