Life in Italy vs. Life in the United States: Religion

Religion is a monumental influence in Italy. Religion influences many things including architecture, music, and visual art. Italy's population is nearly 90% Roman Catholic, with a good portion of that statistic being practicing Catholics. Religion played a major influence in early Italian culture, ranging from the many chapels that were built to beautiful works of art like Leonardo Davinci's paintings inside the Sistine Chapel. Italy is firmly based in the Christian religion, whereas religions are far more varied in the United States. Although nearly 70% of our population is Christian, this is spread out in a number of branches, including Protestant with 51% and Catholic with 23%. This can largely be contributed to the many different cultures that come to call America home. With our incredibly diverse background the United States is a society backed by many different religions. I found it interesting while wandering around Perugia with my home stay family to see all of the different chapels and churches, each with different architecture and a different story. Each chapel had a reason for standing, and it really gave a lot more depth and meaning behind a sector of the Christian religion I didn't know very much about. My family was also Roman Catholic, and explained to me the story behind each chapel we visited. One church was even built around the original, with the original still standing firmly in the middle. All the original artwork was preserved and told a story that was hundreds if not thousands of years old. Seeing how religion can have such a big impact on things really made me think about things that religion, particularly Christianity, has impacted in our country.

Inside a Chapel in the Vatican