Christianity in Malta - Current Status and Law

Current Status and Law

The Constitution of Malta provides for freedom of religion but establishes Roman Catholicism as the state religion. Freedom House and the World Factbook report that 98 percent of the Maltese religion is Roman Catholic, making the nation one of the most Catholic countries in the world. As at 2005, the rate of regular mass attendance was estimated at 52.6 percent (51 percent for Malta Island, 72.7 percent for Gozo), compared to 63.4 percent in 1995. There are two territorial jurisdictions: the Archdiocese of Malta and the Diocese of Gozo.

In public schools religious instruction in Roman Catholicism is part of the curriculum but students may opt to decline participation in religious lessons. Subsidies are granted to private Catholic schools.

Pope John Paul II made a total of three pastoral visits to Malta–twice in 1990 and once in 2001, during which he beatified three Maltese.

Religious toleration is the norm, and the two percent of the population that is not Roman Catholic mainly consist of small communities of Muslims and Jews, in addition to Anglican and Protestant communities consisting mostly of British retirees. There is one Muslim religious school in the country, and the government had approved plans for a 500-grave Muslim cemetery.

The percentage of people that attend mass in every locality of Malta:

Other totals of people attend to mass, because these localities are not in percentage:

Additionally, between a quarter and a fifth of mass attendees, are active members of a Church Movement, group or initiatives such as the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, the Neocatechumenal Way, the Legion of Mary, Opus Dei, Youth Fellowship and other Church groups within the parish. Malta also has the highest number of members of the Neocatechumenal Way per population in the world.

Malta is the only country in Europe that does not permit divorce. Performing abortion on Maltese territory is also illegal, though over the years several loopholes (non-inclusion of outer territorial waters, no mention of advertising) permitted individuals to circumvent the ban for limited time periods. In an SMS poll, Malta chose the Maltese cross to be the image on the Maltese Euro and rejected one of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus, which had garnered a strong majority in a previous poll, after attracting opposition even from the Local Bishops who did not see it fit to place Jesus' face on a coin.