This great and gifted nation has decisively affected world culture through Roman law,
Latin, Renaissance art, music, clothes, and cars, but it is in deep spiritual need.
After the fourth century collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic
Church became a political as well as a spiritual power, deeply impacting world
politics. The Church's temporal power, though reduced since 1870, was in
conflict with its spiritual responsibilities — destabilizing, dividing and
impoverishing Italy in the process.
Most Italians are Catholic in culture, but deeply cynical of the Church, which has
lost over 10 million members. Nevertheless, Catholic traditions and mindset permeate
every aspect of national and personal life. The infamous Sicilian Mafia and Neapolitan
Camorra have infiltrated every level of society. Legal and judicial attempts to
destroy the power and influence of these criminal organizations are fraught with
difficulty.
The world's oldest Protestant denomination, the Waldensian Church, began in
north Italy, but was subjected to terrible persecution for centuries. It is now united
with the Methodists and some Baptists but is influenced by dead liberal theology. The
Protestant witness as a whole is weak and divided, especially between the growing
Pentecostal majority and non-Pentecostal minority. Most congregations are small and
introspective. Only 1,500 of Italy's 33,500 communities have an established
evangelical witness. The dearth of mature Italian Christian leaders is crippling the
advance of the gospel. Seven Bible schools and seminaries are trying to meet this need.
The need for expatriate missionaries is great but the casualty rate has been
unacceptably high in the past, with only 10% on average returning for a second term.
