{"id":2590,"date":"2014-02-18T16:09:12","date_gmt":"2014-02-18T15:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=2590"},"modified":"2022-08-17T22:01:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T20:01:10","slug":"role-of-religion-in-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/role-of-religion-in-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Role of Religion in Italy and America"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since winning Italy Magazine\u2019s Blogger Award, the increase in traffic to my blog, Facebook Page, and Twitter account has been meteoric, to say the least.\u00a0 So it\u2019s with some trepidation that I tackle a provocative subject with all these new eyes on my posts.\u00a0 However, to this day, one of the biggest draws to my site is<\/p>\n

However, to this day, one of the biggest draws to my site is from a piece I wrote more than a year ago entitled, \u201cCatholicism and other superstitions in Italy<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 Google still seems to think that I\u2019m an expert on this topic, for some reason.\u00a0 (This doesn\u2019t speak very highly of their algorithm, if you ask me.)<\/p>\n

I want to acknowledge right away that the topic of religion always inspires controversy.\u00a0 We each have our own opinions, and thankfully, throughout most of the world, these opinions are to be respected.\u00a0 Furthermore, when I make generalizations, they are just that: generalizations. If they don\u2019t apply to you, then fine, I wasn\u2019t talking about you.\u00a0 In any case, I\u2019ve tried to provide a balanced argument\u2026 so hopefully there\u2019s something here to offend everyone.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Religion in Italy<\/h2>\n

I suppose that religion occupies a role in every culture around the world, even if that role varies greatly from country to country.\u00a0 Furthermore, governments and other institutions often do their best to influence and confuse that role.\u00a0 For example, in the U.S. we supposedly have freedom of religion and the separation of Church and State.\u00a0 So then why does our Pledge of Allegiance proclaim, \u201cOne nation under God\u201d?\u00a0 This seems to contradict both the claim of freedom (you\u2019re not free to be an atheist, it would seem) and separation. Worth noting that church growth strategies<\/a> in the West are increasingly focused on Latin America and NOT the United States of America.<\/p>\n

\"religion<\/a>Meanwhile, Italy\u2019s first article to the constitution says that \u201cL\u2019Italia \u00e8 una repubblica fondata sul lavoro,\u201d <\/i>Italy is a republic founded on work\u2014and nothing is mentioned regarding God or religion.\u00a0 And yet ever since Pope John XXIII began the practice in the early 1960s, the Pope has had his weekly address broadcasted on the state-sponsored television channels via RAI Uno and Eurovision Network every Sunday at noon.\u00a0 At the end of the address, the Pope comes to the window of his apartment in Saint Peter\u2019s Square to deliver a religious message called the \u201cangelus.\u201d\u00a0 <\/i>Notable, however, is that this little speech\/devotion is duly quoted and re-reported by every major journal and television channel around the country.\u00a0 Therefore, this isn\u2019t just a religious message\u2026 it\u2019s also national \u201cnews.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most foreigners assume that all Italians are religious.\u00a0 Well, maybe they are or maybe they\u2019re not\u2014it sort of depends on your definition.\u00a0\u00a0 But certainly they are not religious in the same way that Anglo-Saxon Puritan societies understand the adjective.\u00a0 My simplified take: religion carries a great deal of cultural significance in Italy, whereas in the U.S. the implied moral directives are pushed to the forefront\u2014for better or worse.<\/p>\n

For many Italians, religion is not even a conscious choice.\u00a0 Catholicism is so deeply entwined into the culture that it\u2019s nearly impossible to separate the societal influence from the catechism.\u00a0 So there is a certain stigma attached to proclaiming yourself as a non-Catholic.\u00a0 It\u2019s \u201cbad manners\u201d more than anything.\u00a0 In any case, religion enters your life in sneaky ways.\u00a0 For example, all children are baptized at an early age\u2014obviously much too early for it to be a choice for them.\u00a0 The parents, even if they themselves haven\u2019t stepped inside a church since their own wedding, will have their children baptized if only because it would \u201clook bad\u201d and \u201cporta sfortuna\u201d<\/i> (bring bad luck) not to do so.<\/p>\n

Then by the time your First Holy Communion comes along, you\u2019re old enough to realize that this solemn ceremony comes with a big party and lots of precious gifts, so it would be ridiculous to take a stance against this at such a tender age. \u00a0About four or five years later, it\u2019s time to make your Confirmation.\u00a0 Now you\u2019re older and wiser still, therefore other considerations enter the equation.\u00a0 For example, anyone attempting to shun their Confirmation will be reminded that, without it, you\u2019ll never be allowed to marry in a church.\u00a0 Which again, \u201clooks bad,\u201d more than anything else.\u00a0 The cycle repeats.\"flag-vatican\"<\/p>\n

So this is why the Vatican can claim that 90% of Italians are Catholic…it’s just too inconvenient to “undo” it. \u00a0But challenge an Italian on their Catholic beliefs and you\u2019ll often get a vague sort of justification for their non-Catholic behavior.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Luigi, I thought that Catholics aren\u2019t supposed to have sex before marriage?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, come on\u2026 everybody does it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah but, the Pope says it\u2019s a sin.\u201d<\/p>\n

At which point he\u2019ll mumble, offer a few shrugs, adjust the family jewels, and then finally, \u201cVabbe<\/i>\u2019\u2026\u201d before walking away.<\/p>\n

But Italians aren\u2019t likely to take a literal approach to Church doctrine or to reading the Bible in the way that Christian Fundamentalists in the U.S. would.\u00a0 Remember, Europe is the cradle of both Christianity AND Illuminismo<\/i>, so these two philosophies have existed side by side for centuries.\u00a0 Italians seem to like these apparent paradoxes, whereas Americans want tangible, clear, separate explanations.\u00a0 For an American, either something is true or it isn\u2019t.\u00a0 Black or white; right or wrong.<\/p>\n

\"superstitions<\/a>Instead, Italians are very comfortable with the contraindications, and in fact might even prefer them.\u00a0 Perhaps it gives the individual a little wiggle room to debate and apply the religious\/moral principles as he\/she sees fit.\u00a0 \u00a0There seems to be an attitude of \u201cWell, it might not be true\u2026 but what\u2019s there to lose by playing along?\u201d\u00a0 Not ironically, it\u2019s exactly the same with superstition.\u00a0 \u201cOK, the malocchio<\/i> is probably nonsense, but what does it hurt to wear my cornicello<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n

Religion or Superstition? Or both?<\/h2>\n

Nowhere in the world does religion and superstition coexist in such easy harmony as in Italy.\u00a0 In the U.S. or Britain, superstitions might be acknowledged and even practiced to some degree.\u00a0 But they are separate from religious beliefs.\u00a0 Not so in Italy, where the line becomes increasingly blurry the more you investigate the topic. \u00a0And the further you travel south.<\/p>\n

There are many superstitions in Italy which clearly demonstrate this relationship.\u00a0 For example, never throw away bread, and if you really must, you have to kiss it first (bread is the symbolic body of Christ, after all).\u00a0 Speaking of kissing, in Italy you should always greet someone with a kiss on BOTH cheeks, never<\/i> just one (your name isn\u2019t Judas, is it?).\u00a0 Never place 13 people at the dinner table (unless it\u2019s someone\u2019s \u201clast supper,\u201d so to speak).\u00a0 Avoid wearing the color purple (because Jesus was clothed in purple as a mockery of his royalty).\u00a0 These are only a few of the many examples.<\/p>\n

Over the centuries, religion and superstition have gradually merged into a single amalgam of supernatural beliefs, especially in southern Italy.\u00a0 Of course, the Vatican isn\u2019t too keen on this idea and has even sent missionaries down South to \u201cclean up\u201d this hybrid form of Catholicism.\u00a0 Unsuccessfully, it would appear.<\/p>\n

I Puritani<\/h2>\n

\"pilgrims\"If, in Italy, religion is often merely a fa\u00e7ade of good manners or the avoidance of bad luck, then in the U.S., the Puritan influence creates a much more rigid societal state of mind.\u00a0 The accepted \u201cmorality\u201d must prevail at all costs.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t really matter if you\u2019re Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish; Puritan values still permeate almost every aspect of American society.\u00a0 In politics, for example.\u00a0 We\u2019ve become progressive enough for an African-American president, a female Secretary of State, and homosexual mayors.\u00a0 But an atheist in the White House?\u00a0 Unimaginable.\u00a0 Indeed, it would appear that the opposite extreme is more politically popular.\u00a0 (Who remembers when George Bush claimed \u201cGod told me to end the tyranny in Iraq\u201d?)<\/p>\n

Television provides another clear example.\u00a0 In the U.S., you’re allowed to show every disgusting mode of graphic violence on network T.V. that you want:\u00a0 Guns? \u00a0Beheadings? \u00a0Exploded corpses?\u00a0 No problem! \u00a0But if you flash a female breast for one second you\u2019re in deep shit with the censors.\u00a0 (Does anybody recall Janet Jackson\u2019s \u201caccident\u201d at the Super Bowl and the controversy it sparked?)\u00a0 This is clearly the Puritan influence at work\u2014a moral \u201changover\u201d from our forefathers antiquated beliefs.\"berlusconi_e_le<\/p>\n

In Italy, by contrast, the era of the velina<\/i>\u2014those overtly sexual, scantily clad spokesmodels dancing for the camera\u2014was ushered in by none other than the Prime Minister himself.\u00a0 Yes, that billionaire entrepreneur, icon of low-brow entertainment, model of rude behavior, and sometime politician: Silvio Berlusconi.\u00a0 In his image of Italy, Italians prefer their scenes of violence to occur off-screen; but meanwhile the female anatomy takes center stage on prime-time television.\u00a0 Shows like Drive-In, Striscia La Notizia, etc. clearly demonstrate this national preference for sex over violence.\u00a0 (Gasp! \u00a0Americani<\/i>, cover your eyes and send your children off to bed!)<\/p>\n

What does all this say about the two cultures?\u00a0 Hell, I don\u2019t know, I\u2019m just a guy with a blog trying to make sense of life with two Italians in the house.\u00a0 My wife shares my views on gun control, while at the same time making a crusade out of the right of a couple to kiss on the metro.\u00a0 And my little daughter seems to prefer exhibitionism to modesty\u2026nothing makes her giggle so much as running around the house naked (this will obviously have to change before she starts asilo<\/i>).<\/p>\n

If living in another culture teaches you one thing it is this: open your mind, question your beliefs, and be willing accept that everything that you thought was an absolute was, in fact, only one way of seeing the world.\u00a0 The great American poet Walt Whitman said it even better, \u201cRe-examine all that you have been told at church or school or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults your soul.\u201d\u00a0 (We should probably add Google to this list.\u00a0 If they still think I\u2019m an expert on superstition and religion in Italy, then they obviously can\u2019t be trusted.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since winning Italy Magazine\u2019s Blogger Award, the increase in traffic to my blog, Facebook Page, and Twitter account has been meteoric, to say the least.\u00a0 So it\u2019s with some trepidation that I tackle a provocative subject with all these new eyes on my posts.\u00a0 However, to this day, one of the biggest draws to my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[202,169,5,4,134],"tags":[93,175,77,70],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2590"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12134,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590\/revisions\/12134"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}