What are the other religions practiced in Italy?

After Roman-Catholicism it is the largest religion practiced in Italy. With about 1.3 -1.5 million believers it comes to about 2 - 2.2% of the total population. The first Orthodox people came to Italy in the end of the 4th century. In 1943 an Orthodox church in Rome was established for Russians living in the Italian capital. At the end of the 20th century many new Orthodox believers settled in Italy. Today the biggest Orthodox communities in Italy are made up by the Romanian, Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox communities.

Jehovah's Witnessess:

There are about 250.000 of them in Italy, which makes up 0.4% of the population. The first groups of Jehovah's Witnesses came to Italy in the early 20th century. During the fascist era their missionary work was banned but after the war in 1946 the ban was lifted.

Evangelical Churches:

There are numerous different Evangelical churches in Italy. The largest one is the Union of Christian Evangelical churches, with about 200,000 members, which makes up about 0.33% of the population. The Waldensians, another protestant church movement are an old established religious minority in Italy.

Buddhists:

In Italy there are an estimated 150.000 Buddhists. The biggest communities originate from Vietnam, China, Sri Lanka and Thailand. In the 1970s and 1980s many Tibetans came to Italy where they opened several Tibetan monasteries and built their largest stupa in Europe in the northern Italian town of Pomaia.

Hindus:

About 100,000 Hindus mainly originating from India, but also Sri Lanka and Nepal, live in Italy. The first Hindus arrived in Italy in the 1970s and nowadays they built about 20 temples and meditation centres all over Italy.

Jews:

The history of Jews in Italy is one of the oldest and most prestigious. The Jewish presence in Italy dates back to the 2nd century BCE. Nowadays there are about 35,000 Jews in Italy. The largest communities are located in Rome, Milan, Florence, and Livorno.