Religious Issues in Italy
¨ Though Protestants in Italy had been consistently persecuted for nearly 800 years, after religious freedom came, it was met with indifference. Today, occultism is widespread, and there are reckoned to be 100,000 full-time consulting magicians, three times the number of Catholic priests. Satanism is strong in the north with Turin being one of the major global centers for its activities, which include praying for the removal of all evangelical missionaries from the country. The controlling spiritual powers in Italy have never been fully routed in 2,000 years.
¨ The long-powerful Roman Catholic Church's influence and the number of priests have declined dramatically. Many Italians despise and ignore the Church; nevertheless its traditions and mind-set still permeate every aspect of national life. In their disillusionment, many have turned to New Age thinking, cults, the occult and drugs.
¨ Organized crime (the Sicilian Mafia and the Neapolitan Camorra) have infiltrated every level of society. Their power and influence is such that every legal and judicial attempt to tame this monster has failed. Government officials and leaders, and Church authorities, even in the Vatican itself, have been subverted and the attitudes of the general population poisoned by this evil system. Murder and extortion are commonplace and net enormous wealth. This money plus that gained from the lucrative global trade in drugs is used to buy politicians, influence, and even industries.
¨ Less than 2,000 of Italy's communities have an established evangelical witness. The other 31,000 are unoccupied. The northern cities have few churches. Over a million students in some 47 universities are another needy mission field. An estimated 400,000 heroin addicts, with increasing incidence of HIV+ infection, pose a desperate and demanding challenge yet largely unmet by evangelicals, with the notable exception of some in Naples.
¨ Numerous minorities, through legal and illegal immigration, have swelled Italy?s population but there is little specific outreach to them (Muslims, Africans, Albanians, Germans, Greek and Croatians).
¨ The Protestant Church is weak and divided, and evidences little cooperative or strategic thinking among leaders, though there are those seeking to change this. Churches tend to be small, introspective, and largely ignorant of the biblical challenge to missions. Yet a slow and steady growth is becoming evident. Protestantism is still generally perceived as a foreign sect, despite the existence of the indigenous Waldensian Church, the world's oldest Protestant denomination. This latter is now in federal union with the Methodists and some Baptists and, sadly, influenced by liberal theology.
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The dearth of mature Italian Christian leaders in Protestant churches at both the national and pastoral level is crippling the advance of the Gospel. Internal conflicts and scandals due to pride, money, and power-seeking have harmed the witness.
¨ Italy needs missionaries - but of the right caliber. The casualty rate has been unacceptably high in the past, with but 10% on average returning for a second term. Pressures from spiritual forces and entrenched opposition to God?s message expose any personal inadequacies in a missionary.
¨ Christian radio and TV has become an extraordinary tool for evangelism since government control of broadcasting was relaxed. There are now 600 private TV stations in Italy! There are 100 evangelical local radio stations and many other commercial stations that broadcast evangelical programs. Many churches and missions have developed ministries in radio, but adequate follow-up is a problem.
¨ Greater Europe Mission has had a Bible Institute in Italy since 1961; it is now autonomous. We have two couples ministering in this difficult land.
¨ Pray for revival that will break down barriers, create a hunger for God?s Word, and bring about true spiritual unity and a thrust to evangelize Italy.
