Italian American Folk Religion

Italian-American folk religion is the practical everyday spiritual reality of Italian-American immigrants. It is a unique cultural practice, with traditions and practices that are a blend of old world Italian religion and American cultural influences. 

Italian-American folk religion is somewhat distinct from Italian Folk Religion. Italy is regionally extremely diverse, with different cultural practices, and even languages being spoken in different areas. These different traditions and practices that may have never actually contacted another in Italy, became mixed in America through the intermixing of different immigrants from different areas of Italy. This was also further mixed with American spiritual customs and practices. So although I do look to Italy for an understanding of history, culture, and practice, the practice that I'm discussing tends to be more what people of Italian descent practice in America. 

This practice doesn't have a specific name, and most Italians will simply identify themselves as being Catholic; a common answer of many people about what these folk religious practices are is simply “the things we do" 

There are some names given to people that are practioners of this folk system of healing and prayer: some are called praticos, “a practioner” implying a kind of medical like skill; guaritori healer”, fattucchiere, fixers, donne che aiutano “women who help” and mago or maga, “magician” mago/a does imply that there is a magical knowledge present, but the title has connections to the “Magi” of the bible implying a level of goodness. 

In the past a title rarely, if ever, used to denote someone that practiced folk religion was Strega, or Witch. The title not only implied maliciousness and evil, but also denoted an almost inhuman nature. Today though the title Strega, has been reclaimed to denote someone who practices a healing and positive form of folk religion and magic, and many Italian-Americans will proudly refer to themselves as such. 

The practice of Stregheria (an older dialect term for Witchcraft) is a revival practice that while emphasizing the practices of folk herbalism, healing, and magical practices, deemphasizes Catholic practices in favor of Neopagan traditions. So although this is a perfectly acceptable modern practice, it is not the tradition most of our ancestors actually ever would have recognized. 

The worldview of Italian folk religion is rooted in a firmly folk Catholic view, but that world is not the Catholicism that most Modern American Catholics would understand. It's a world that is populated with spiritual forces and beings, that constantly influence and guide the destinies of human life. 

With the source of Creation and power coming from the remote and unknowable Mystery that is God the Father, this chain of power and magic is extended through the mediating influences of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Saints, Angels, and the Ancestral Dead. 

Also included in this worldview are the earthly powers of nature spirits and plant spirits, and finally the infernal powers of demons and restless ghosts. 

Through a combination of folk wisdom of herbal medicine and the sacramentals of the church, prayer, and spiritual gifts such as healing, prophecy, and mediumship, practitioners bring balance, healing, and blessings to the lives of those who seek their assistance. 

This practice isn't dead by any means, but it's very much at risk. Most elders that are familiar with these practices, or even knowledge of prayers and rituals are dying out without passing them on to their descendants. Thankfully there is a revived interest in preserving these traditions.