The Irreligious American: Italian Immigrants in Ybor City, Florida

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Seales, Chad

Keywords

Italians, Catholicism, Anti-clericism, Immigration, Religion

Area of Concentration

Religion

Abstract

This thesis is a sociological examination of Italian immigrant communities in Ybor City, Florida and New Orleans, Louisiana between 1895 and 1920. The primary theorists used are Will Herberg and R. Stephen Warner. Examining Herberg and Warner's theory that to become American is to become religious in a public sphere, Ybor City, Florida is shown to be one location in which this theory is not applicable. Using records from the archdiocese in New Orleans, Louisiana and research performed by Gary Mormino, the conclusion is made that New Orleans fits Herberg and Warner's sociological theories, while Ybor City does not. The records show evidence (or lack of) participation in institutionalized religion in the given cities. Various reasons can be provided for the difference between the communities, ranging from the political followings of the immigrants to the language spoken by the clergy, with a variety of other reasons also influencing the distinct results from each community. From these findings, the sociological theory can be changed to say that the religious pursuits chosen by immigrant communities are influenced less by the prior religious cultures of the group of immigrants, and more by the social context of the area that the immigrants populate.

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