Religion in Italy

This survey examines a variety of religious and non-religious topics in Italy. Religious topics include: morality of behaviors (abortion, theft, divorce, homosexuality, etc.), religious beliefs, the meaning of life, religious experiences, participation in religious rituals, views concerning and participation in sacraments, moral issues surrounding pregnancy, the role of the Catholic Church in society, obstacles to becoming clergy or a monastic, and belief in paranormal phenomena. Other topics include views on Italy's politics and economy, political party, life satisfaction, use of leisure time, geographic region, and demographic characteristics.

Data File

Cases: 4,500
Variables: 345
Weight Variable: WEIGHT

In general, analysts will weight the data by WEIGHT when examining the data. For more information, see the full codebook.

Data Collection

Date Collected: May-June 1994

Funded By

The survey was made possible by major grants from the Italian Ministry of Instruction, University & Research (MIUR).

Collection Procedures

Face-to-face interview conducted by experienced and well-trained interviewers. Interviewers were instructed to glean from respondents as much locational information about their affiliation as possible.

Sampling Procedures

National sample covering 4,500 Italian aged 17 years or older (>74) living in 166 cities selected amongst 4 geographical macro-areas (North-West, North-East, Centre, South & Isles). The survey consists in a 3 stages stratified sampling with independent samples from a number of geographical areas, municipalities and groups within the population. During the first stage of sampling, municipalities were not selected randomly but by means of a purposive sampling method. Selection errors were not listed systematically in the research report (1.5% sampling error and 33% non-response). Immigrant minorities were clearly underestimated from the sample frame.

This survey was designed to measure different religious topics, such as beliefs, practices, experiences, and affiliation, but not to account for not highly institutionalized religious experiences.

Principal Investigators

Vincenzo Cesareo, Roberto Cipriani, Franco Garelli, Clemente Lanzetti, Giancarlo Rovati

Related Publications

Cesareo V., Cipriani, R., Garelli, F., Lanzetti, C., Rovati, G. La religiosità in Italia, Mondadori, Milano, 1996.