According to the Italian Constitution, all religions are completely equal before the law, and as long as they do not violate the law, they have the right to establish their own organizations and carry out activities according to their own general rules. More than 90% of Italians believe in Catholicism, while the rest believe in Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses and Buddhism. There are more than 440 religious organizations with more than 600,000 members, 1 tens of thousands of sympathizers and supporters. Catholicism has a great influence in Italy. There are 2,865,438+0 parishes, more than 440 archbishops and bishops, more than 63,000 priests, more than 6,543.38+0.4 million nuns, a large number of various monks, and more than 265,438+0.000 salaried clergy. There are churches in cities, towns and villages all over the country, and there are many monasteries all over the country. There are many hospitals and schools run by the church, which have great influence on Italian politics and culture.
A brief history of religion
In ancient Rome, the Romans believed in Rome instead of Catholicism. Catholicism was suppressed after it was introduced from the Middle East, and a large number of missionaries and Christians were suppressed. In 3 13, Constantine the Great issued an Amnesty in Milan, giving Catholics freedom of belief, ending the era of persecution of Catholics, and Catholicism began to spread widely here. In 756, Pippin, the king of Frank, gave the Pope a large area of land in Rome and central Italy, which greatly increased his power. 1870 When risorgimento regained Rome, the Pope was forced to retreat to the Vatican in the northwest corner of Rome, and his secular rights were deprived. Soon, the government promulgated the "safeguard law" to deal with the relationship with the Pope, but the Pope refused to accept it and expelled the believers who advocated the separation of church and state. 1929 In February, the Holy See signed the Rutland Treaty with the fascist regime. The Italian government recognized the Holy See as an independent country, and the Holy See also recognized the Kingdom of Italy and cooperated with the fascist government. Catholicism is the national religion of Italy. 1February 1984 18, the Holy See and the Italian government signed a new agreement to suspend the status of Catholicism as the only religion in Italy, and citizens have the freedom to choose whether to receive religious education. Most Italians only believe in a certain religion and seldom take part in religious activities. The number of people who confess to priests has decreased, the number of people who hold secular weddings without going to church has increased, and the source of clergy has become a problem. The divorce law and abortion law, which the church has always opposed, were confirmed in Italy after the referendums in 1974 and 198 1 respectively.
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Mass is a religious ceremony to commemorate the sacrifice of Jesus. After the death of Jesus, the disciples often met to review his teachings in memory of him, and divided the Eucharist (handing out unleavened cakes) and other ceremonies. Later, it developed into a whole set of sacrificial ceremonies, which were held on Sundays or festivals, and believers also participated. The ceremony was presided over by priests, bishops, etc. And there are certain procedures. The host needs to receive the Eucharist (eating unleavened cakes) and holy blood (drinking red wine), and believers only receive the Eucharist. When the host preaches, he also tells some truths, exhortations and exhortations in combination with the present world, and finally ends with the word "harmony". At this time, all the participants repeated the word "peace" and shook hands with each other.
the benedictine order
Benedictine Church is one of the Catholic monasteries. The Italian Benedictine Church (also translated as Benedict, so it is also called Benedictine Sect) was founded in 529, and the first monastery was built on Mount Cassino. He made the following rules: members of the congregation are not allowed to get married, have no private property, and must obey their superiors. This is the so-called "three wishes". Fellow villagers must recite the scriptures on time every day, sing "Sunday class", and engage in all kinds of labor in the rest of the time, including copying ancient books, engaging in religious art and education, and regard idleness as a sin.
Franciscan Order
Franciscans, also known as Franciscans or Little Brothers, is one of the main factions of Catholic trustees. Francis, a rich boy in assisi, Italy, was founded on 1209. 1205, Francis went barefoot to Germany, Spain, Monaco, Egypt and other places to persuade people to take part in his retreat. As a layman, he distributed his wealth to the poor in Subashaok Mountain outside the city. 1209, Pope enoch III approved the establishment of Franciscan monasteries. Missionaries had to live a poor life, travel barefoot and spread the gospel of poverty. They called each other "little brothers", loyal to the Pope and opposed heresy. At first, it was claimed that there was no permanent production in the meeting, but later the rules were relaxed, and hospitalization was set up in the city, which accumulated a large number of industries. To this end, the internal division is divided into the school, the school, and the school. After the reform, the observants called themselves Franciscans. Clara, a fellow countryman of Francis, founded a convent, calling herself "the Second Franciscan Order", also known as "Clara Order". At the end of 13 and the beginning of 14, some scholars went to China, Peking and Quanzhou. /kloc-In the 7th century, monks were sent to China again.
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a sect founded by American Rosey in the second half of19th century. There are many followers in Italy. This sect denies orthodox Christianity, believing that there is only one God, that is, the Lord, that Christ was created by God, and that the Holy Spirit is the name for the power of the Lord. I believe that the Lord is about to fight against Satan and will soon win, that is, there will be no more diseases, sins, wars and poverty in the world. The selected 65,438+044,000 people will rule the heaven, of which 65,438+000 people are still alive, and they are all Jehovah's witnesses, that is, members of society. 1000 years later, Satan will tempt mankind again, a few people will be induced to fall, most people will keep their faith, and the wicked will be eliminated. Based on the Bible, it opposes the Christmas tree, the cross, the Pope, Protestantism and other religious rituals and systems. In secular life, we oppose hypnosis, blood transfusion, military service, birthday celebration, gambling, homosexuality, induced abortion, evolution, smoking and materialism. It refuses to run for public office, salutes the national flag, sings the national anthem and opposes the state and all secular authorities. Some Jehovah's Witnesses were sentenced for refusing to perform military service. They would rather go to prison than betray their religious beliefs. Believers must concentrate on teaching and discussing "watchtower" books and periodicals at 5 pm every Sunday, that is, books and periodicals that publicize and explain the Bible and religious theories, and believers take turns to preside over them. Believers must attend this ceremony in their own place on time when they go out. Religious believers must attend at least five hours of religious activities every week and must often preach from door to door. Believers call male believers brothers and female believers sisters in religious activities, and it is absolutely forbidden to use secular appellations, such as father, mother, uncle and aunt. You must pray before meals.