Faith and Culture: Can One Exist without the Other?

All my life I’ve blindly accepted being a Catholic.  Going through something without much thought isn’t very difficult, especially when I have so many other things in life to worry about.  Will I find a job that I love, will my husband and I be good parents, will I ever pay off my student loans. Why add extra stress to something that has existed in my life on a regular basis since birth.  Catholicism in our household was as regular as brushing your teeth. Just as brushing your teeth is a basic ritual for most people every morning and every night, so was getting up every Sunday morning to attend mass with my family. It wasn’t questioned, just expected.  
 
Over 30 years ago, my parents emigrated from Croatia, a country about 90% Roman Catholic. In our home we had pictures of religious figures on our walls such as Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Growing up we attended CCD, also known as Sunday school, and took the basic Catholic rites of passage. Just like moving from 1st grade to 2nd to 3rd and so forth, as a Catholic, you have baptism, communion and confirmation. This was the process growing up until about 8th grade. There were many, many Sundays my two sisters and I wanted to simply sleep in, but the result was always an argument with our parents until we eventually caved in to our parent’s demands and dressed in our Sunday best. Eventually, I just learned that fighting wasn’t worth the effort and sucked it up.  My mom’s favorite thing was to play Croatian music videos and blast them until we woke up. Basically, week after week, year after year, until I moved out at the age of 24, Sunday’s at 10:15 am we were out the door driving to mass. 
 
Religion and culture are almost blended and not interchangeable. I have felt that if I choose one, I must choose the other. Just think about this, when ethnic groups such as the Croats, began immigrating to the U.S., it was easy to find other Croats. You just had to find the nearest Croatian Catholic church. According to the author of “Croatians of Chicagoland,” Maria Dugandzic-Pasic, Croatians purposely built their own church in order to have a place of solace and join other like-minded people because they were outsiders and they needed a place to feel inclusive. From that point on, everything revolved around the church; Croatian school, Croatian dancing, Croatian picnics, Croatian music fests.  In turn, it became this very collective community. The same can be said for other nationalities, Polish, Italians, Irish, Arabs and Mexicans where religion plays a big part in their country of origin.  
 
Up until a few years ago, I never would have imagined this internal battle with faith and culture.  I was taught that Catholicism was an unchanging status, just as my eye color would always be brown, my faith would always be Catholic.  The day my mother asked me why I was Catholic because I disagreed with her views toward sexual orientation and abortion, is the same moment I realized that my religion was not a fixed status.
 
As I slowly pull away from the Catholic dogma I also risk the possibility of being abandoned and judged by those who follow the same culture.  If I decide to leave the religion I grew up with, am I leaving my Croatian culture as well? Can I have one without the other?

All content © Marija Jurcevic

Defining American

A recent episode of the Colbert Report caught my attention. Jose Antonio Vargas, a prominent journalist, discussed his decision in “coming out” as an undocumented immigrant.  Vargas was 12 when his mother put him on a plane from the Philippines to live with his grandparents in California to give his son a better life. This better life, “American Dream,” is not an uncommon theme with many immigrants.

What was most noteworthy was his discussion about feeling “American.” Vargas’ 20 years in the U.S. allowed him enough time to assimilate to the dominant culture.  The music, movies, books, language, mannerisms, his absorption to simply the norms of society helped define him as American.  So, as he turned 16 and was awaiting his drivers license at the DMV, like most American teenagers,  he quickly learned that his green card was invalid. His whole identity turned on its side.  Since that day, he averted his attention to “never give anyone reason to doubt [he] was American.”

Growing up I heard a lot of reference from my parents regarding anything they viewed as different or ethnocentric to their own culture as being “American.”  Croatians were the ingroup, everyone not Croatian was the outgroup.  I really don’t believe this is very uncommon with other immigrant groups. In the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, writer/actress Nia Vardalos references this exact point within the Greek culture.  She portrays the Greek immigrant father as very proud of his nationality. He emphasizes the importance of Greek culture, facts about Greek culture, even American words that stem from Greek culture to anyone that would listen.  This is very similar to my own upbringing. This sense of pride for the Croatian culture. Yet, I was also part of the dominant culture by going to public school, hanging out with non-Croatian friends, speaking English, displaying the norms of the dominant culture, being “American.” While my parents reasons for being stricter than my friends’ parents was because my friends were “American” also meant that I was not American.  At least that’s what I thought I was supposed to feel, but I didn’t. I felt my parents were being unfair and didn’t understand because they were the immigrants, they were different.

As I got older, I began to question their, and my own, understanding of how defining what is “American.” When my parents comment on why I eat out at restaurants, go on trips other than to Croatia or when my opinions differ from theirs, my assumption is their judgment that I am being American.  My parents have American citizenship, but don’t consider themselves as American. Again, Vargas spent twenty years of his life being trying to prove that he belongs here, with all the other Americans.  How does someone then demonstrate appropriate “American” behavior?   


All content © Marija Jurcevic