Protestantism in Italy

Protestantism in Italy is a Christian minority in an overwhelmingly Catholic country.

While Catholicism is by far the largest Christian denomination in Italy and the country has more cardinals than any other country in the world, Italy is also home to a significant minority of Protestants. The oldest of the non-Catholic entities, the Waldensian Evangelical Church, is a pre-Lutheran Protestant community (which then adopted Calvinist theology, so that it can be considered the Italian branch of Reformed churches) and is based in some valleys of Piedmont. Since 1975 the Waldensians form a united church with Italian Methodists, who have traditionally had a non-episcopal polity.

The Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy (FCEI), formed in 1967, comprises all the historical Protestant churches of Italy (including the Waldensians and Methodists, the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Italy, the Baptist Evangelical Christian Union of Italy, and some minor churches), plus two observer members with a large following (the Federation of Pentecostal Churches and the Italian Union of Seventh-Day Adventist Christian Churches).

In the 20th century, Jehovah's Witnesses, Pentecostals, non-denominational Evangelicals, and Mormons were the fastest-growing Protestant churches. Immigration from Western, Central, and East Africa at the beginning of the 21st century has increased the size of these churches, as that of Baptists and Anglicans.

In 2006 Protestants made up 2.1% of Italy's population.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Religion in Italy
• Christianity in Italy
• List of Italian religious minority politicians