Tuesday, October 30, 2007

While 70% Italians Favor Religious Instruction in Public Schools, Only 30% Have Read Gospels.

The ANNOTICO Report

Few Italians Read Gospels, Survey Shows 

 

Catholic World News

Oct. 30, 2007

Milan, (CWNews.com) - Roughly 70% of all Italians have not read the four Gospels, according to a survey published in the daily La Stampa.

The survey, conducted by Coesis Research for the publishing house Editrice San Paolo, found that most Italians nevertheless support religion, with 90% saying that they favor religious instruction in public schools.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta is the most popular religious writer among Italian readers today, the poll showed. Sts. Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Avila were also ranked among the top 5 preferred religious authors.

Among younger Italians, Pope Benedict XVI is the favorite living religious writer, while older Italians preferred Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the retired Archbishop of Milan, who has long been a favorite of liberal Catholics.

In recent years, the two most popular religious books in Italy have been Pope Benedict Jesus of Nazareth and Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz's account of his years as secretary to Pope John Paul II, entitled A Life with Karol.

 

The ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed (and are Archived) on:

Italia USA: http://www.ItaliaUSA.com [Formerly Italy at St Louis] (7 years)

Italia Mia: http://www.ItaliaMia.com (3 years)

Annotico Email: annotico@earthlink.net