Istat data outline a structural change in Italian society: church weddings no longer represent the automatic choice of the majority of couples, marking a definitive overtaking of civil marriages.
The overtaking numbers
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Prevalence of the civil rite: Beyond 61% of the total marriages are celebrated in the town hall or through civil ceremonies, confirming a steadily growing trend in recent decades.
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Decline of the religious rite: Church weddings continue to record double-digit contractions (with annual drops of around -11%), losing ground even in the realm of first marriages.
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Geographical divide: The North and the Center are leading the shift toward civil ceremonies (with the percentage exceeding 58% even for first marriages in the North), while the South remains the region where the Church-sanctioned marriage retains the strongest share, albeit one that is gradually declining.
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Pronounced seasonality: Religious observances occur almost entirely (more than 90%) between spring and early fall, with peaks in June and September.
The main reasons
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Cultural secularization: The Catholic rite has lost its value as an “obligatory passage” or pure social convention; the choice to get married in church today mostly responds to a genuine conviction of faith, reducing ceremonies celebrated solely for family tradition.
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Boom in cohabitations (more uxorio): Cohabitations have almost quadrupled over the last twenty years. Cohabitation is now experienced as an autonomous and lasting alternative or as a very long preliminary phase, reducing the symbolic need for the sacrament.
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Aging of the couple and job insecurity: The average age at first marriage has exceeded 34 years for men and 32 for women. Late entry into the job market and delayed housing independence are driving more pragmatic and less formal choices.
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Pair composition: The rise in marriages involving at least one foreign national (where civil ceremonies account for more than 90%) and the increase in second marriages are statistically steering wedding ceremonies away from the altar.
Observations and scenarios
The decline of church attendance is just the tip of the iceberg of a broader demographic transformation linked to declining birth rates and the numerical contraction of younger generations.
The religious ceremony has transformed from a collective rite into a minority and conscious choice, while the institution of marriage is redefining itself around more flexible civil and privatized models.
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